


Two Women and a Baby

by lifeinabeautifullight



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Baby, F/F, Family, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, It's basically fluff with some important topics thrown in there for good measure, because Sanvers would make great parents and this is the canon i choose to believe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-01-21 16:01:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12461142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lifeinabeautifullight/pseuds/lifeinabeautifullight
Summary: A super fluffy fic all about Alex and Maggie's first year as parents.Or - Fluff. It's literally just Sanvers + a baby fluff (with the occasional serious topic every now and then)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I think we all need some fluff in our lives right now, so I'm happy to help contribute to this cause, as I write this from the great state of denial, a place where both Alex and Maggie would love to be parents so they are and they're pretty amazing parents too! This'll be updated weekly!

Their daughter was three months old, perfectly healthy and perfectly perfect. With her dark hair, dark eyes and little divots in her cheeks that would only deepen over time, she was Maggie’s doppelgänger – something which, from day one, had absolutely thrilled Alex to no end.

_Her mini Maggie._

_Hers._

_Little Ellie Alexandra Danvers was hers._

And, still, Alex couldn’t quite believe it even though it had been over two years since they’d decided that they’d like to be mothers after all. It had been a long journey but all the blood, sweat and tears – the latter Alex had contributed heavily to, especially when she had held her daughter for the first time – had been totally worth it. Every day, Alex woke to her wife either feeding or cuddling their baby beside her, and an immense feeling of gratitude in her chest. Life was great.

‘You comfortable?’ Alex asked with a grin, as she looked down at the perfect little sight right under her nose. Their outing to Maggie’s precinct this afternoon had presented the perfect opportunity for Alex to test out the baby carrier she’d excitedly bought the other day. The content little sound Ellie made confirmed to Alex that they were mutually enjoying this experience. ‘Awesome,’ she said, leaning down to press a kiss to Ellie’s head. ‘Let’s go surprise Mama, shall we?’

The prospect of motherhood for Alex had been as daunting as it had been exciting. She had could count the amount of babies she had held pre-Ellie, on one hand and with just one thumb. Kids had scared her – they were loud and unpredictable bundles of energy that Alex had stayed far, far away from. She hadn’t really wanted to become a mom much. It wasn’t really practical either. Then Maggie came along and Alex saw how great she was with kids, and then started to warm to the idea. And when Maggie had suggested it, some seven or so years into their marriage, Alex was all in. Besides proposing, it was the best decision she had ever made.

She’d been prepared for motherhood, reading book after book and changing diaper after diaper on dolls but there were some things she could never have prepared herself for. Such as how helpless she felt as Ellie had gotten her first shots which was, heartbreakingly, her first experience of pain, or how freaked out Alex got at the slightest of sniffles or at the first sign of a rash – her mom was probably getting sick of the constant calls and texts but, thankfully, Eliza Danvers had the patience of a saint. Worrying, Alex came to realize, was only natural.

And it wasn’t limited to just Ellie.

As part of her preparation for motherhood, Alex had also been sure to spend ample time familiarising herself with things that her wife could face after giving birth, particularly postpartum depression. At first, Alex had thought she was worrying _too_ much but the statistics she read – _one in ten women_ – reinforced her belief that she wasn’t being overprotective. Thankfully, Maggie hadn’t shown any symptoms yet, but there was one thing that Alex had noticed about her wife, one thing that hurt to see.

It had happened a few times and it had been subtle, quick and over before Alex could say anything about it. This morning, however, it wasn’t quick and it very much wasn’t Alex’s mind playing cruel tricks on her. She saw it through the open bathroom door as she made her unannounced approach.

There Maggie stood, in jeans and an open flannel in front of the bathroom mirror, studying her appearance. _Agonizing_ over her appearance.

Gone was Alex’s eagerness to surprise her wife with the precious cargo she had strapped to her chest. ‘Hey,’ she said softly, prompting Maggie to flinch, to look mortified as she scrambled to button up her shirt. Alex moved swiftly. ‘Hey, it’s okay.’ She gently took Maggie’s hands in hers. ‘You don’t need to do that.’

Maggie looked away, both from Alex and their kid. She looked at the ground, eyes clouded with tears.

Alex let go of her hands so she could slide the shirt off her wife’s shoulders. ‘You look beautiful, you know that?’

Still silent, Maggie shook her head.

Gently, Alex ran her fingers down Maggie’s stomach, letting them linger on the stretch marks that, for weeks, Maggie had been critiquing, judging, _hating_. ‘Look at me, baby,’ Alex waited for Maggie to meet her gaze, before she continued. ‘They are beautiful. You brought life into this world. You’ve earned them and I want you to be proud of them because they’re amazing, just like you.’

Maggie’s bottom lip quivered before she jerked her glance away yet again. ‘You really think so?’

‘I _know_ so. Plus,’ Alex smiled. ‘They look cool. Like badass tiger stripes. I wish I had them.’

With a small laugh, Maggie nodded and wiped at her eyes. ‘Thanks, Alex.’

‘For what? Telling the truth? Don’t be crazy.’

‘No,’ Maggie finally smiled. ‘No, I needed to hear that. It’s just…I don’t know. They’re different, I guess.’

‘They’re _awesome_. _You’re_ awesome.’

Maggie’s smile grew wider, and wider still as she finally took in the baby carrier. ‘Where did you get that?’

‘At _Target_. It reminds me a little of my tactical gear a little.’ She took a step back, so she could do a twirl. ‘What do you think?’

‘I think that it makes me want to have ten more babies with you,’ Maggie said as she bit down on her lip. ‘It’s a good look. And, of course, you had to get the jet black one didn’t you?’

‘Of course.’ Pink wasn’t her colour and the blue one looked boring. _Who was she kidding?_ The second she saw the black option, it was in the cart without a second thought. ‘I thought I’d wear it when we go to your precinct.’

Maggie grinned. ‘Well, I’m not going to stand in your way. Is it comfortable?’

‘Very…you,’ Alex narrowed her eyes. ‘You want to try it, don’t you?’

‘Uh, duh.’

/ / /

Maggie had found it comfortable too. So much so, that she refused to take it off and wore it for the short walk to her precinct and, begrudgingly, only took it off before she went into her meeting with the commissioner, leaving Alex in charge of their daughter and to make all the necessary introductions.

‘Damn,’ Detective Grisham, Maggie’s oldest friend in the PD, remarked as he held Ellie. ‘Her genes are strong aren’t they?’

Alex nodded. ‘Exceptionally. You want to see just how weird it is?’ She pulled out her phone, scrolled through her camera roll and tapped on the photo Maggie’s aunt had recently emailed. ‘It’s literally like she gave birth to herself.’

Grisham’s eyes were wide. ‘That’s…I…wow. I feel like I’m holding her, and it’s really starting to freak me out.’

‘Then let someone else have a shot,’ piped up Arnie Murdoch, another long-time buddy. Maggie worked with great guys – and, yes, they were _all_ guys, for the NCPD was still very much of a boys club. Luckily a great boys club. They’d all clubbed together and sent over a basket of toys and onesies shortly after they’d welcomed Ellie. They were another branch in an amazing support system..

Alex plucked Ellie from Grisham’s arms and delivered her to Arnie. ‘Do you want to see _that_ photo too?’

Arnie nodded eagerly. ‘Yes ma’am.’ His reaction was the same. ‘That…is creepy.’

‘Also got some more gems, if you’re interested?’ That question had the whole of the bullpen crowded around her, for an impromptu slideshow of embarrassing photos of their beloved friend and boss. Maggie might kill her for sharing them but, hey, at least she was in a room full of homicide detectives – it’d be the easiest case they’d have all year. That is, if she didn’t kill them all too. ‘Maggie on her first day of school…wasn’t she cute?’

‘Rocking that bowlcut.’

‘Isn’t she just?’ Alex laughed, and flicked to another one, and another, and another, saving the best for last. ‘Captain Sawyer’s punk phase.’

‘Interesting choice of last words.’ At Maggie’s voice, the detectives immediately dispersed back to their desks. She stood, arms folded across her chest. ‘Really, Alex?’

Alex shrugged. ‘I could say the same about your fashion choices when you were younger.’

Maggie shook her head, bemused but not so secretly amused.

‘How did it go?’

‘Great. I start back in October.’

Alex could barely contain her joy. ‘Six more months?’ Not just six more months of maternity leave but, six more months of time off _together_ \- J'onn had also been incredibly generous. 

‘Yeah,’ Maggie beamed. ‘He’s a family man himself and that, combined with my track record, he was more than happy to offer more leave which means more time,’ her eyes landed on her daughter and she swooped in and picked her up from Arnie’s arms. ‘With this little one.’

Alex couldn't wait.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for such a lovely response to the first chapter! I really appreciate all the support - hope you enjoy this one too! xo

It hadn’t mattered that Ellie couldn’t yet comprehend a single word, Alex still made sure to read to her every night.

And every night, Maggie fell even more in love with her wife.

It had started months back, when Ellie was still in utero. Every evening, Alex would read, book in one hand whilst the other rested on Maggie’s belly. Most nights it had either been some science journal or a pregnancy book but, really, it was whatever was nearest – hence why one night, it had been the latest issue of _TV Guide_. Whatever it was hadn’t mattered. It was still the sweetest thing and would more often than not, form a formidable tag team with Maggie’s scattered hormones and make her cry.

She’d lucked out with this girl in so many ways.

Tonight was no exception, as Maggie emerged from the shower and found Alex sat cross-legged by the crib in their room. She stood in the doorway and listened intently about a seemingly very curious cat. The tale was familiar but she daren’t interrupt, her smile increasing with each passing second.

At _the end_ , Alex placed the book down and leaned into the crib to kiss her daughter goodnight. ‘Night princess,’ she whispered. ‘Mommy loves you so, so much.’

Tears pricked Maggie’s eyes. ‘I feel the same,’ she said softly, so not to startle. ‘About mommy too.’

Alex looked over and smiled. ‘Hey.’

Maggie padded across and picked up the slightly tattered picture book. ‘Are you running out of books to read?

‘Huh?’

‘This book,’ Maggie flicked through the colourful pages. ‘You’ve read this a couple of times before.’

‘Oh,’ Alex gently took the book from Maggie’s hands and perched on the edge of their bed. She took a few moments to herself before elaborating. ‘My dad used to read it to me when I was little. When I thought he was…gone, I used to read it all the time which is dumb because, you know, it’s a kids’ book but when I read it, I would hear him reading it to me…in all the silly little voices he used to do.’

‘That’s not dumb, that’s understandable,’ Maggie said, resting a hand on Alex’s leg. ‘And when he next comes to visit Ellie, he can read it to her too.’ Jerimiah Danvers had been brought home safe and sound a couple of years ago, thanks to his daughter’s meticulously planned operation that had brought CADMUS down too. Alex had her family back and became an American hero – she had only cared about the former and had only went to receive her commendation from the POTUS at her father’s insistence.

‘Yeah,’ Alex nodded, a smile starting to break out on her face. ‘Yeah, he can.’

Maggie rested her head on her wife’s shoulder. ‘What’s it about?’

‘The title’s pretty self-explanatory, and it’s a short book so you’ve probably--.’

‘Babe,’ Maggie chuckled. ‘I want _you_ to tell me about it. It holds a special place in your heart so I want to know all about it.’

‘I…I can read it to you? If you want?’

‘Please do,’ Maggie insisted. ‘And don’t skimp out on the voices. I want the full experience, the one that Ellie gets.’

/ / /

The next morning, as she stood in front of the mirror, she saw her post-partum body in a whole new light. A positive light, one in which she didn’t hate what she saw because Alex loved every inch of it (and had shown her that last night, in no uncertain terms) and that was more than enough for her.

Her stripes were beautiful.

Her child was beautiful.

Her life was beautiful.

It was a little after nine and Alex still had her face buried in her pillow, snoring gently. It had been a rare long night – Ellie was usually a great sleeper, waking only for feeds and then going back to sleep without any hassle, but she did have her off-nights and last night had been particularly bad. Alex didn’t function well on little sleep, so Maggie left her to be, taking Ellie downstairs, to ensure her wife could sleep in.

She made a call, enjoyed thirty minutes of tummy time before pulling Ellie onto her lap and cuddled her in front of the TV. Alex finally rose from the land of slumber around eleven, bundling down the stairs in an apparent state of panic and with adorable bedhead. ‘Dumb question, but have you seen my rings?’

‘Yeah. They’re on your finger where I put them all those years ago.’

‘They _were_.’ Alex held up an empty hand. ‘Not anymore.’

‘Oh.’

Alex proceeded to sort through the mess of magazines on the coffee table, sighing as she predictably found nothing. ‘I checked our room and I can’t find them.’

‘You definitely had them when you went to bed.’

‘I must’ve taken them off when I got up to feed Ellie,’ Alex sighed. ‘Shit.’

‘Hey,’ Maggie said firmly. ‘You’ll find them. Don’t worry.’

‘I feel naked without them.’

She felt bad for smiling whilst her wife was clearly upset, but the sentiment was too cute to not smile at. ‘They’ll be somewhere. And they’ll be on your hand by the end of day, I promise.’

‘I hope so,’ Alex muttered as she pulled her phone out of the pocket of her sweatpants.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Calling my sister and making full use of her superior eyesight. Duh.’

/ / /

 _Supergirl_ x-rayed every inch of their house and, like Alex’s left hand, came up empty.

Alex refused to stop searching, turning the house upside in the hopes that her super-powered sister might have missed something.

It had only been an hour but Maggie had to step in, gently taking hold of her wife’s arm to stop her from pacing. ‘Why don’t we go for a walk? And we can come back and look with fresh eyes, okay?’ Alex looked sceptical, so Maggie threw in an incentive to sweeten the deal. ‘I’ll let you wear the baby carrier _and_ I’ll buy you ice-cream.’

That swung it and they headed out to the gorgeous little gem of a park that was just a five-minute walk away from their bungalow. The park had been a big selling point of the neighbourhood. It was small and peaceful, with a vintage ice-cream truck that, year-round, was parked by the pond. _Victoria Park_ held a special place in their hearts. It was _their_ place and they couldn’t wait to make it their little family’s place too.

And, today, they were going to make another memory there.

They had ice-cream and got a kind passer-by to take a photo of them with some ducks in the background before Maggie suggested they walk over the wooden bridge that went lengthways over the pond. Butterflies were multiplying in her stomach with every step, and she thought they were about to burst out of her when, at the halfway point of the walkway, she let go of Alex’s hand.

‘Babe?’

Alex turned, puzzled. ‘Yeah?’

‘I haven’t been honest with you.’ Maggie’s voice shook. She had thought nothing would be scarier than childbirth but, clearly, she was wrong. This was absolutely terrifying.

‘What?’

‘I lied to you.’

‘About--.’

Maggie cut her off, rambling and wishing that she had spent more time planning this. The idea had come to her in bed last night and she hadn’t wanted to wait to act on it. ‘You are amazing. I mean, that goes without saying. Look at you – you’ve taken down terrorist cells, you’ve saved the city more times than you can probably remember and you,’ Maggie let out a little laugh, ‘You sit and you read your daughter stories about curious cats and daring dogs and you make _all_ the noises.’

‘I mean you can’t _not_ read it and do all the voices,’ Alex laughed. ‘But, baby, I’m confused? What is this about?’

‘You,’ Maggie reached for her wife’s hand. ‘This is about _you_ , and about how lucky I am to have you.’

‘Okay?’

‘I…I called your father this morning because I wanted to do this right. I wanted his permission because, even though you’re a grown-ass adult, who can kill a man with just one finger, you’re still his little girl.’

Alex finally clicked. Her jaw fell open and her eyes shimmered with tears, tears that threatened to rain down on a content Ellie.

‘I know we’ve already done this before and it was _wonderful_ , the best day of my life. But,’ Maggie shakily got down on one knee, pulled out the engagement ring that she’d stolen and stashed away in the pocket of her jeans – her wife’s wedding band was in there too. ‘Things have changed. We have Ellie. Your dad is back home. And my feelings for you have deepened in a way that I never thought was possible. So…Alex Danvers,’ she was doing it, she was finally doing it – she’d _always_ wanted to do this. ‘Will you marry me? Again?’ She had never been in doubt of the answer but it was still so nerve-racking.

‘Yes,’ Alex managed after a second, and in a small voice. ‘ _Always_ , yes.’

Maggie slid the diamond ring onto Alex’s finger, brought out the silver band and did the same. ‘Sorry for lying to you this morning,’ Maggie apologised after a long kiss and a moment or so of staring into each other’s eyes, where they saw tears and their future – their incredible, exciting future.

‘I knew that I wasn’t crazy,’ Alex said as she wiped at her eyes.

‘Yeah, I figured I had to ask before you made me put out an APB. I had to tell Kara too, in case she noticed that they were in my pocket.’ It took Kara two minutes to fly to their place – Maggie had sent a panicked, rambling text message and had prayed her sister-in-law had got it in time. She had and replied with a series of emojis, and an _OMG!!!!_ and had played along when she had arrived.

‘How did you--?’

‘Get them? Babe, are you kidding?’ Maggie laughed. ‘You were borderline comatose this morning, it wasn’t exactly difficult.’ Alex was never much of a morning person, even on the best of days. It had been easy. It had been exciting. Life was now just so exciting now that their family was complete. ‘Your dad’s so excited to walk you down the aisle. And Eliza’s already planning the Second Big Gay Bridal Shower - thankfully, this won’t be as eventful as the first.’

Alex grabbed Maggie for another kiss before she whispered a breathless, ‘I love you.’ Her eyes flicked down to the baby strapped to her chest. ‘I love our family. I…’ She shook her head. ‘I can’t believe this is happening?’

‘Believe it,’ Maggie grinned. ‘And you better believe that my vows are going to make you cry harder than they did first time round.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? x


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay in posting - uni's been kicking my ass and i've had limited writing time the past few weeks! Should be back on track with this fic now. Thanks for sticking with me, hope you enjoy what's to come x

The last time she had celebrated Mother’s Day, she was thirteen years old. And, as was the case with a lot of her early teenage years, though try as she might to forget them, she remembered that particular day well.

She had been looking forward to it, having saved up her allowance for months to buy her mom something nice. Spending $50 on a silver necklace, a box of chocolates and a card had made her feel like an adult, and the smile on her mom’s face had been more than worth it. The chocolates were finished in mere days; the necklace and the card, however, she presumed were thrown in the trash the following year, along with fourteen years’ worth of photographs.

Time didn’t heal all wounds – some wounds would forever sting just a little. What time did, however, was change things and today, for the first time in nearly three decades, she had been looking forward to the day.

Her wife had, as expected, spoiled her – there was a card with an essay written inside, flowers and an absolutely gorgeous diamond bracelet. Maggie had stuck for what she had gotten her mother all those years back but, this time, the amount she spent on Alex far, far exceeded $50 – after all, what was the point of having money if you didn’t spend it on the things, and people, that you loved?

They weren’t even pretending any of these gifts were from their five-month-old – no, she was still seemingly sound asleep in her crib, in her room. Until she woke, they were planning on making the most of this rare peace, and start celebrations off accordingly.

Celebrations lasted all of thirty seconds until the monitor crackled with cries.

They were followed by a familiar voice.

‘What the--.’

‘Is that…?’

Alex climbed off Maggie, grabbed the monitor and tapped the button to make it two-way. ‘ _Kara_?’

A second or so passed. Then, ‘Oh, um, morning?’

‘Are you in our house?’ Alex’s question was so loud, the communication device was redundant.

‘Uh…yes…I can explain! Are you two decent?’

Unable to help herself, Maggie took the monitor from Alex’s hand. ‘No, your sister was in the middle of devouring me before we were--.’

Alex snatched it right back. ‘Ignore her, we’re decent.’ If only they had been afforded the time to remove even a single item of clothing.

Ten seconds later, Kara bounded into their bedroom, babe in arms. ‘Happy Mother’s Day!’

If her daughter didn’t look so cute in the little onesie that was emblazoned with the words, _I Have the Best Mommies in the World_ , then Maggie’s aggrievance over her sister-in-law showing absolutely no regard to privacy wouldn’t have immediately dissipated. _Ellie would always be her Kryptonite._

‘So sorry for startling you guys, but I wanted to surprise you.’

‘Well,’ Alex laughed, shaking her head. ‘That you certainly did. But it’s okay, I’ll forgive you...only if you give me my daughter.’

‘Oh! Yes, of course,’ Kara smiled as she carefully handed Ellie to her mommy, her smile only widening as Alex greeted her.

‘Good morning cutiepie.’ _Soft…so freaking soft._

Maggie exchanged a brief glance with Kara and they both smiled at how absolutely fucking adorable that was, before the latter cleared her throat awkwardly. ‘Um, so do you want me to go? Or stay? I had planned this all out but, in hindsight, I kinda forgot that you may have wanted to celebrate this day in your own way.’

‘What was your plan?’ Maggie asked, arching a brow.

‘Cute baby onesie and I’d make breakfast.’

‘Sounds good to me. Babe?’

Alex temporarily ceased smothering Ellie in kisses to answer. ‘I mean since you went to the effort of sneaking into our house, it’d be rude to say no.’

/ / /

When Kara had said _make breakfast_ , what she had really meant was _fly out to the nearest bakery and bring back warm croissants and coffee._ It was still a lovely gesture and one that was fully appreciated by the both of them.

‘Can you believe she’s gonna be on solids next month?’ Alex mused as Ellie was eying their food hungrily, despite being fed mere minutes ago – the girl was definitely a _Danvers_.

‘Time flies,’ Kara replied. ‘I feel like it was just yesterday that Maggie ruined my couch.’

Maggie laughed. ‘ _Ellie_ ruined your couch. It wasn’t my fault that she chose to come a little earlier than planned. If I’d known, I’d at least put a towel down first…besides, your new couch is much nicer.’

‘It is,’ Kara agreed. ‘Anyways, do you guys have plans for tonight?’

‘Does movies and wine count as a plan?’ Otherwise known as their usual Sunday night plan. Why fix something that wasn’t broken?

‘Is it a plan? Yes. Is it a good plan? Not really.’ Kara clapped her hands together. ‘That’s it. I’m making you plans for tonight.’

‘If you get us _plans_ for tonight, at such short notice then you’re even more _Super_ than we all thought you were,’ Alex remarked.

Her sister grinned. ‘Dress code is smart casual and a car will pick you up at seven. I’ll babysit.’

Alex’s eyes were wide. ‘Seriously?’

‘Seriously,’ Kara nodded. ‘Also, is it okay if James comes round to help babysit? Just ‘cause, you know, I’m _Supergirl_ , and could be called into action at any given minute.’

‘And not because you two have been dating for the last two months?’

Now it was the Kara’s turn to look surprised. ‘ _You know_?’

_Everyone_ knew. Even Ellie was aware of the fact that her Uncle James might soon become an actual uncle through marriage. ‘You’re not exactly subtle.’ And that was putting it delicately – Alex had lost count of the number of ‘sneaky’ kisses she’d caught in the past few months. ‘Regardless, I’m happy for the two of you and, of course, he can come over. Just…just don’t use our bed, okay?’ If she couldn’t get the chance to use it with her wife, she’d be damned if her little sister and her boyfriend would be able to.

/ / /

For smart casual, Alex opted for a blue shirt and black skinny jeans, whilst Maggie went for the alternating black shirt, blue jeans. It wasn’t intentional. It was _never_ intentional. It was just their wardrobe was so exceptionally similar, it was inevitable. And they were still teased mercilessly for it.

‘It’s _that_ couple, again,’ James laughed.

‘Yeah, yeah. Just don’t do it on my furniture,’ Alex muttered.

And Maggie added. ‘And use protection, unless you want Ellie to be getting a new playmate in nine months.’

James turned to Kara. ‘I told you, you weren’t exactly being subtle the other night.’

‘The other night?’ Alex scoffed. ‘Oh please, I’ve known about it for _way_ longer than that.’ A beep from outside prevented her from elaborating on just how long she’d been aware. ‘Anyways, that’ll be our chariot. Any more questions you need answering before we go?’

Her sister shook her head. ‘Don’t think so.’

Alex nodded. ‘Our phones will be on all night if you need us.’ She offered her arm to Maggie. ‘Shall we?’

/ / /

Their chariot, a black SUV, drove them to a very familiar part of the city, and pulled into a very familiar, and secure, underground parking lot.

Kara hadn’t managed to snag them a last-minute reservation at some fancy restaurant on one of the busiest days of the year – she was a superhero, not a miracle worker. What she _had_ done, was arrange a special candlelit dinner for the two of them on the balcony of the DEO, the place where, many years ago, Alex had spontaneously popped the question.

It was so much more romantic.

Some poor agent had even been drafted in to be their waiter for the night and took their order from a menu that Kara had put together, before filling their glasses with wine.

‘You lucked out when it came to the alien sister thing.’ Maggie took her first sip of wine, then moaned softly. ‘Damn…this shit’s good.’

Alex leaned forward to examine the bottle. Whilst she appreciated wine, she’d hardly call herself an expert but still…even she knew that this was a particularly fancy wine, and probably came from some fancy vineyard in some very fancy country – a perk of having a multi-millionaire within your close social circle. ‘If she wants to liquor us up so she can steal our kid, well…it might actually work.’

‘Oh please. We both know she could never be _that_ sneaky. C’mon…her and James?’

Alex laughed. ‘The worst kept secret in the world. And they both had the nerve to think nobody knew? Maybe they’re the drunk ones.’

‘I can’t wait to hook up with the Maid of Honour at the wedding,’ Maggie grinned.

‘Who says you have to wait until the wedding?’

‘If this morning was anything to go by, our daughter. Don’t get me wrong, I love our little girl so much but really…would it kill her to not interrupt us just one time?’

‘Tell me about it,’ Alex agreed. ‘I think that’s the only thing I hate about motherhood. The distinct lack of a--.’

She was cut off by a loud, ‘Hey!’ They both turned to see a little girl, no more than five years old, sprinting up the stairs before tripping and falling, hard.

Maggie was the first to her feet, and the first by the girl’s side, whose knees were now grazed and her tears flowing freely as she cried. ‘Hey sweetheart, are you--.’ The girl threw herself into Maggie’s arms, buried her head in her chest.

Context as to what exactly was going on, finally arrived as the perpetrator of the earlier _hey_ , finally caught up, out of breath as he reached the landing. ‘You guys…I’m _so_ sorry for interrupting you. She’s just… _fast_ …like a little Barry Allen.’

‘Don’t be silly,’ Maggie said as she rubbed the girl’s back, to soothe her. ‘Who is she?’

‘Agents--.’ Winn wheezed. ‘Agents found her an hour or so ago. Brought her here because her parents…’ He tailed off, his sombre silence finishing the sentence for him.

_On today of all days_. The mere thought made Alex’s heart ache but just one look at how tightly Maggie was holding the now-orphaned child, made it feel that little bit better. ‘Is she alien?’ Alex asked, almost certainly knowing what the answer would be.

‘Yeah,’ Winn said. ‘Although we’re not sure exactly what she is. The guys in the medbay wanted to run some tests on her to find out, and also to make sure that she’s okay but the poor thing is absolutely terrified and won’t stay still. We don’t even know her name.’

Alex took one more look at the child and came to a decision. ‘Tell the guys in the medbay that we’ve got this.’

‘Are you sure? It’s your--.’

‘Absolutely sure,’ Alex insisted. ‘Now you should go and sit down before you collapse.’

Winn pouted. ‘She’s fast, okay?’

‘Of course she is,’ Alex rolled her eyes, before turning her attention to the child in question, and crouching down beside her.

Maggie took the lead, ever so gently prying her away to meet her eyes. ‘Hey sweetie. You don’t need to be scared, we won’t hurt you, I promise.’

It took a few seconds, but the girl finally found the courage to look up from the floor.

Maggie offered a kind smile. ‘My name is Maggie, I’m a police officer and this,’ she nodded at Alex, ‘Is Alex. She’s a doctor and she wants to make sure that you’re healthy, is that okay?’

The little girl gave the smallest of nods.

‘Awesome…What’s your name?’

‘J-Jaime.’

‘Nice to meet you _Jamie_ ,’ Maggie smiled. ‘How about we let Alex take a little look at you, and make sure that you’re okay?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jamie...that's an interesting name...


	4. Chapter 4

**_Two years ago…_ **

The thought of becoming mothers was exciting, and the prospect of embarking on this journey together was extremely romantic – the process, however, was far from it.

The sight of her wife preparing the syringe made Maggie’s stomach clench. Even in the privacy of their own bedroom, it felt so clinical. And this would just be the trigger shot – in thirty-six hours, they’d be in a sterile room, whilst a stranger would be sticking some other stranger’s sperm between her legs.

Still, as much as she was dreading _this_ , she was glad that it was Alex doing it, because the smile Alex gave her as she looked up, was warm and reassuring. ‘I’ll be gentle. Promise.’

Maggie gave a little nod, gestured towards the bed. ‘Should I lay down? Or do you want me to stand?’

‘Whatever you’d prefer.’

Feeling a little unsteady on her feet, Maggie opted to lay down.

‘You’re amazing for doing this,’ Alex said, tenderly stroking her hair. ‘I’ll never have enough words to express just how amazing you are for all of this.’

‘I’m doing this for us. It’s nothing.’

‘ _Nothing_ sure is a weird way of describing bringing life into this world but sure,’ Alex grinned, as she slid Maggie’s pyjama top up, before running warm fingers across the exposed flesh. ‘Are you comfortable?’

‘As I’ll ever be.’

‘Okay,’ Alex smiled. ‘Close your eyes, count to ten and that’ll be it. It’ll all be over, just like that, in a shot.’

Maggie closed her eyes, started counting in her head. She got to eight when Alex’s choice of words clicked. ‘Wait…did you just?’ She opened her eyes, just in time to see the needle being pulled out of her stomach. _That was it_?

‘Make a totally great pun _and_ give you said shot without you feeling it?’ Alex shrugged. ‘Guess I did.’ She swabbed the injection site with a wipe, before placing her lips just below it. ‘I promised you that I’d be gentle. The nerdiness? That’s just an extra perk of marrying me.’

/ / /

**_Now…_ **

‘Are you sure?’ Alex looked hesitant.

Maggie was absolutely certain. ‘It’s just a simple blood test, right?’ The only way she’d been able to get little Jamie to not be afraid of the pretty standard tests Alex had conducted in the medbay – listening to her heart, checking her ears, those sort of things – was to volunteer to go through it first. It had seemed silly but it had eased the little girl’s fears about it all. The last part, the drawing of blood was the most important – the DEO would run it, and it would almost certainly help to pinpoint what planet Jamie came from – but it was also the most daunting.

‘Basically,’ Alex confirmed.

Maggie unbuttoned her top halfway, so she could slip her left arm out to offer to Alex, whilst she turned to Jamie who clung to her other arm. ‘It’s okay, sweetie. She’s very gentle. You have nothing to worry about.’

All Maggie felt was the tightening of the tourniquet and the slightest of stings.

‘See? Didn’t hurt at all. She’s very good at her job.’ She smiled at the four-and-a-half-year-old. ‘Do you know who _Supergirl_ is?’

A slight smile tugged at Alex’s lips as the little girl nodded enthusiastically.

‘Well Alex? She’s _Superdoctor_ – she just doesn’t have the cool cape.’

‘I like _Supergirl_ ,’ Jamie said.

‘You do?’

Another keen nodding of the head. ‘She’s so cool. I got her action figure.’

The aforementioned action figure was part of an extensive merchandise line that Kara had developed with L-Corp, and every single penny that the line of figures, colouring books, backpacks, clothing, all that sort of stuff, raised went straight to local kids charities – it was merchandising done right. It also gave Maggie an idea. ‘You wanna meet _Supergirl_?’

Of course, Jamie did. ‘Yeah!’

‘Well we know her. Once Alex finishes her test, I’ll call her and you can meet her. How does that sound?’’

/ / /

**_Five months ago…_ **

Their daughter was just like her mother – tiny.

Alex had been scared to hold her at first, scared that her hold would be that little bit too tight and would accidentally hurt her little girl. The nurse had smiled warmly, helped Ellie into her arms and reassured Alex that her little girl wasn’t made of porcelain.

It was, and would always be so hard for Alex to describe what it was like to hold her child for the first time. There were so many different thoughts and feelings, it was hard to think about where to even begin to describe it. Ellie was so beautiful and so perfect…she didn’t even feel real, despite her little hands feeling so tangibly real, and so soft and warm, just like Maggie's.

After what felt like mere seconds but, in actuality had been closer to ten minutes, the nurse suggested giving Ellie her first feed. Maggie had always planned on breastfeeding but, still, looked alarmed at the prospect.

‘You’ve got this,’ Alex said with a smile, as she carried her precious cargo the short distance into Maggie’s arms. ‘You’ve _totally_ got this.’

‘But where do I even begin, I--. Oh. _Oh_.’ The worry in Maggie’s face quickly disappeared, replaced by awe. ‘She’s…on, I…wow.’

‘See? You’ve got this hang of this already.’

/ / /

**_Now…_ **

She watched through the observation window, patiently waiting until her wife was finished braiding Jamie’s hair, whilst the child chatted excitedly to _Supergirl_ who was sat right in front of her. Jamie’s fear and confusion was nowhere to be seen – she was with her hero, she was happy, and she was with Maggie, who had a naturalness around kids that, still, took Alex by surprise.

Once her wife was done, Alex tapped gently on the glass.

Maggie excused herself and left. ‘Hey. You get the lab results back?’

Alex was still smiling. ‘Yes.’

‘Are they good?’

‘Well they say that you are not just human, but one hundred percent the cutest human alive.’

Maggie nudged Alex’s arm. ‘I meant about Jamie…wait, did you actually run my blood?’

‘Since we actually took it, we ran it anyway and nothing came up.’ Knowing that her wife was in good health would never be a waste of time. ‘Anyways, Jamie is part human, part Kryptonian.’

‘Kryptonian?’

‘Yeah,’ Alex nodded. ‘Small universe, huh?'

'You could say.'

'However, her human side is much more dominant, hence how she grazed her knees and how we were able to take her blood in the first place.’

‘Makes sense,’ Maggie mused, her eyes focused on the little girl through the window. ‘What’s going to happen with her? Will she get put into the system?’

‘No. The DEO cannot do that – it poses a risk to both the child and to any family that takes them in. Since it’s such a rare occurrence, we can usually find someone within the agency that will take them.’ Neither of them had to say it out loud, they just looked at each other, then back at Jamie. They knew. ‘Are we absolutely crazy?’

‘Oh, totally,’ Maggie said. ‘But then...crazy is our normal.’

‘Do you think she’d want to go home with us?’ That was a dumb question – again, they both knew, so didn’t have to answer. ‘I’ll have to call J’onn first, check that this is all okay but if you’re sure--.’

‘Certain. She’s a good kid, and she needs a home, a family…I’d love to be able to offer her that, if you do too.’

Alex smiled. ‘Then I’ll call J’onn.’

/ / /

**_Five months ago…_ **

‘And this is your room,’ Alex said proudly as she carried the newborn around the nursery she’d spent the last two months putting together. She’d insisted on doing it all herself, even though DIY wasn’t exactly her forte. The walls were a light green, and the general theme was animals: the bookshelf was designed in the shape of a frog, a large stuffed giraffe sat in one corner and Kara had painted several colourful paintings that hung around the room. ‘You like it?’

‘I think she loves it,’ Maggie remarked as she settled into the leather rocking chair by the giraffe that they’d named Gerry. ‘It suits you, by the way.’

‘What does?’

‘The babe in arms look,’ Maggie beamed. ‘Those strong arms holding something so tiny? It’s also doing crazy things to my ovaries.’

‘One kid at a time, please,’ Alex laughed, coming over to ease Ellie into Maggie’s arms. She crouched down beside the two of them, watching in amazement and silence for a few moments as Maggie nursed. Then, ‘I know she’s still got that new baby smell--.’

‘It’s weird, I thought that was just a myth. But man…it’s not. And it’s awesome.’

‘So awesome,’ Alex agreed. ‘But yeah…I know she’s not even been in this world two days yet but...would you want another one? Later, obviously, not right now as I think we’ve got our hands full for the foreseeable but--.’

‘Yeah.’

‘Yeah?’

Maggie’s voice was certain. ‘Absolutely. If we’re lucky enough to have the opportunity to have another kid, then I’m totally down for it. Motherhood is already pretty damn cool.’ She glanced down at her baby, and her eyes started to shimmer with tears. ‘ _So_ damn cool…especially when it’s with you.’

/ / /

**_Now…_ **

They had nine months to prepare a nursery for Ellie.

They’d had less than nine hours to prepare a bedroom, and a whole new life for Jamie.

Maggie stayed at the DEO with Jamie, so the little girl could get some sleep.

Alex went home to help clear out the spare room with James’ help, as Ellie slept peacefully and unaware in her nursery.

Winn drafted up an identity for the otherwise undocumented child, making the girl’s new name of _Jamie Sawyer Danvers_ official in the eyes of the law.

Kara flew across the city, visiting 24/7 stores to buy anything and everything a four-and-a-half-year-old would need.

It was a team effort and it was hectic, but they managed to pull it off, and a bedroom and a whole new life awaited Jamie as they brought her to what was now her home in the morning.

‘Do you like it? If there’s anything else you’d--’ Alex was cut off by Jamie running full force into her arms.

Maggie smiled, as she knelt beside the two of them. ‘I’m taking that as a yes.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Went for a a slightly different style with the flashbacks for this one...would love to know your thoughts x


	5. Chapter 5

_Mother_ , and any variation of the word, was a heavy term, as was _sister_ so, as they embarked on their first day as a family with Jamie, they kept things on a first name basis – Alex would be _Alex_ , Maggie would be _Maggie_ and, as they established right from making the introduction, Ellie would be _Ellie_.

‘This is Ellie. Our baby.’

Jamie’s eyes lit up at the five-month-old. ‘Can I hold her?’

‘Of course you can,’ Maggie beamed, gently handing Ellie to Jamie, before crouching in front of the two of them, just in case. ‘Careful, she can be wriggly.’

Ellie, however, was not. Instead she looked up at Jamie adoringly and grasped onto her fingers. Alex wished she hadn’t left her phone in her jacket as this, right now, would’ve been the most perfect moment to capture, and to look back on in years to come. Two sisters meeting for the first time…like her and Kara all those years back, but much, much cuter with no initial hatred. Just smiles, and love…

…for a few minutes at least and then Ellie grew fussy. Maggie sensed the reason why, swooping in to hold Ellie up to check, before nodding solemnly. ‘Code brown.’

Jamie understood and giggled.

‘We’ll be back in a couple of minutes,’ Maggie said, excusing herself.

An inquisitive Jamie pushed herself off the couch and started to explore the living room of her new home. Her attention was almost immediately drawn to the set of picture frames sat on the bookcase. ‘Supergirl!’’ She said enthusiastically, pointing at a picture of Alex on her wedding day with her Maid of Honour.

‘No honey, that --.’ Alex stopped herself from lying. After all - who’d seriously believe a kid that claimed that they’d been adopted into the Girl of Steel’s family? ‘ _Is_ Supergirl, you’re right. She’s part of our family, that’s how we know her. Cool, right?’

‘You’re related to her?’

When Maggie had become pregnant, the Supergirl conversation was one of the first conversations that they’d had. However, they’d never reached a conclusion on what they would do – they were just going to see how it played out, and go from there. But Jamie? Jamie had been a welcome surprise addition to the family.Things had happened so quickly, they hadn’t had time to discuss what to do with the superhero in the family – the superhero that, just so happened to be, Jamie’s hero. ‘She’s my sister.’

‘Wow.’

Alex smiled. ‘But it’s a secret so we can’t tell people, okay?’

‘Okay,’ Jamie nodded.

‘Promise?’ Alex offered her pinkie finger, to which Jamie hooked hers on.

‘Promise.’

/ / /

That evening, they split up duties: Alex read Jamie a bedtime story, whilst Maggie fed and gave Ellie a few last cuddles before she was put down for the night. Their teamwork paid off, and from eight-thirty onwards, they had the evening to themselves.

‘We’re acing this motherhood thing,’ Maggie grinned as she brought two bottles of beer from the kitchen, and set them down on the coffee table. ‘What do you wanna watch?’

‘Me?’

‘I picked last time, it’s your turn, it’s only fair.’

Alex grabbed the remote, flicking through the long list of recorded shows they’d stockpiled in recent months and quickly settled on a science documentary in case Maggie called backsies. ‘Since it’s my choice.’

‘Eh,’ Maggie shrugged, nestled into Alex’s side. ‘Your nerdiness is endearing. I’ll live.’

‘You’re going to fall asleep, aren’t you?’

‘Given that I’ve been awake for the past thirteen hours, and you’re watching...’ she squinted at the screen, already struggling to make sense of it, ‘uh, _that_ , I think that’s a certainty.’

Alex let out a little laugh. ‘It’s about stem cells.’

‘Oh…is this gonna be gory?’

‘Maybe a little?’

‘Yeah, I _hope_ I fall asleep now,’ Maggie muttered reaching for her beer, before changing her mind and taking the remote instead. She paused the TV. ’Don’t worry, I’m not turning it off, I just wanted to say something without you huffing about how I’m _interrupting_. Because this,’ she gestured at the screen, ‘reminded me of what happened yesterday.’

‘Okay?’

‘You know Jamie’s smart, don’t you?’

‘She does seem a little wise beyond her years, I guess.’

‘No, no, no. I mean not just _smart_ but _hella_ _smart_ ,’ Maggie said. ‘You should’ve heard her at the DEO yesterday. She was talking to Kara about the solar system. She named all the planets, even some stars – stars that _I_ didn’t know about and even your sister was taken aback. It was just like listening to _you_ , Alex. Jamie’s a mini-you.’

‘I…’ _Didn’t quite know what to say_ …she hadn’t really noticed it, the chance to talk about stuff like that hadn’t really arisen yet. All Alex could say was, ‘She is?’

To which Maggie nodded. ‘Definitely. Now I think this,’ another vague wave at the television, ‘may not be entirely appropriate for her, but if you got any less medically, gory things, maybe she’d like to watch them with you? Supplement _Spongebob_ with science?’

‘I might just do that…it’d be nice to be able to watch that sort of stuff with someone who’d actually appreciate it.’

‘Hey! I appreciate it…it gives me a great chance to catch up on sleep.’

‘Uh-huh,’ Alex smiled as she pulled her wife to her. ‘Well, you better get comfortable because this baby is two hours long.’

/ / /

Thirty minutes was as long as Maggie lasted before she was out like a light, her head in Alex’s lap.

Thirty minutes after that, Alex heard footsteps that grew louder as they came down the stairs. She carefully pried herself free from Maggie, without waking her and met Jamie in the doorway to the living room. ‘Hey honey,’ she whispered. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘I…I don’t like the dark.’

Alex forced a smile. ‘It can be scary, can’t it?’

Jamie nodded.

So did Alex. ‘It’s okay to be scared – I used to be scared of it too.’ She picked up Jamie. ‘C’mon. Let’s get you back into bed.’ She carried her back up the stairs and back into her bedroom, gently placing her back in bed, before climbing in beside her. ‘Budge up,’ she grinned as she just managed to fit in. ‘I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep, okay?’

‘Okay,’ Jamie replied, her voice small as she grasped a handful of Alex’s sweater.

‘Good,’ Alex said as she began to rub small soothing circles on Jamie’s back, hoping it would help lull her back to sleep faster. ‘Supergirl used to be scared of thunderstorms.’

‘Really?’

‘Yep. When she first came to this planet, she used to be scared of them so I used to let her cuddle with me until they passed.’ Alex was slightly exaggerating with this story – it was just the first storm that Kara had experienced and, even then, it was more intrepidation rather than fear. Still…Jamie idolized her, so if an adapted analogy would help the little girl, Alex saw no harm in it. ‘It’s okay to be scared, baby. Everyone has something that they don’t like.’

‘What are you scared of?’

Admittedly, Alex should’ve expected that question and, thus, should’ve been prepared to answer it because what she was scared of – something happening to her family – was a little too bleak for an almost five-year-old. She took a few seconds to think of something more suitable…then a few more because she was _Alex fucking Danvers_ , and the typical fears people had – spiders, clowns, heights, that sort of stuff – didn’t apply to her as she did the craziest job for a living. Her family being hurt was, truly, the one thing in life she feared. But, for Jamie’s sake, she said, ‘Small spaces.’ After all, after nearly drowning in one terrifying custom made little tank, she’d never been much of a fan. But that too wasn’t an apt story to elaborate on, so she quickly moved on. ‘Just close your eyes, sweetie. I’m right here. You’re safe.’

/ / /

As if by magic, Maggie woke to the credits of the documentary rolling – she did that frequently, and was starting to genuinely wonder if it was a sixth sense or something, to wake just as Alex’s science-y shows were finishing.

Speaking of Alex…she was nowhere to be seen. The couch cushions she had been sat were cool, and the bottle of beer on the table was only half empty.

_Weird_.

Maggie did a quick stretch first before embarking on a hunt to find her girl. Downstairs was empty, so she headed upstairs, first stopping in on Ellie’s room. That too, was empty, but Maggie couldn’t help but tiptoe over to the crib and place the lightest of kisses on her daughter’s forehead. ‘Love you, angel.’

She then checked the rooms closest – the bathroom and their bedroom – and, finding them both empty too, headed into Jamie’s room where she found Alex and Jamie cuddled up together, sound asleep and with Alex gently snoring.

The sight made her eyes prick with tears, and her heart swell.

She crept over, and knelt beside the bed, pulling the comforter up a little bit more. ‘Well, well, well, _Jamie_ ,’ Maggie whispered. ‘You’ve been in our house less than twenty-four hours and you’ve already stole my girl? You move quick.’ She grinned as she stood, leaning over to kiss each of their cheeks. ‘Night loves.’

/ / /

For as long as it would take, Alex planned on staying with Jamie every night until she fell asleep – although, from now on, very much also planned on _not_ falling asleep herself as she much preferred the double bed she shared with her wife - a bed that was even more spacious because her wife was so tiny.

For the first week, Alex would just climb into bed with Jamie and patiently wait until the child feel asleep before she would sneak out. Then every night following that, she would ask.

‘Do you want me to stay?’

On the fifth night of asking, Jamie shook her head.

Alex crouched down to be at the girl’s level. ‘Are you sure, sweetie? I’ll stay if you want.’

‘I’m not scared anymore.’

Alex smiled, nodded in understanding. ‘Okay. But if you _ever_ want me to--.’

She was cut off by Jamie throwing herself at her for a hug. ‘I love you, mommy.’

_Mommy_. The term didn’t go unnoticed. In fact, for a few seconds, it left Alex utterly speechless. ‘Oh sweetie, you don’t have to call me--.’

‘And mama too.’

_\-- that_. _Mommy_. _Mama_. That was the first time, ever, that a child had uttered those words in relation to them. And it felt _amazing_ , if a little unexpected. Jamie was adopted and knew her late mother – they’d never wished to encroach onto her territory, so had always simply referred to themselves by their names around Jamie. This was a surprise, a wonderful surprise that made Alex’s eyes start to sting with tears as she held Jamie tight. ‘We love you too, baby. So much.’ She couldn’t wait to tell Maggie--.

No.

No, she _wasn’t_ going to tell her. She was going to let Jamie be the one to say it, to surprise her with it so that she could feel exactly how she was feeling right now – overwhelmed with a hundred different emotions. Yes, that was she was going to do…she just had to get Jamie into bed first, then try to pull herself together so that her wife didn’t suspect a thing.

Alex tried.

‘Jamie go to bed, okay?’

Alex really did try, but it was too much.

‘Hey,’ Maggie said softly, as Alex’s eyes began to fill, again, with tears as she took her spot on the couch. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing.’

‘You’re crying,’ Maggie scooted over close. ‘Did something happen?’

‘Yes.’

Maggie rubbed her thigh reassuringly. ‘What?’

‘It’s silly--.’

‘Nothing’s silly, I promise you,’ she smiled. ‘Tell me, it’s okay.’

Alex wiped at her eyes. ‘Jamie…Jamie called me _mommy_.’

‘She did?’

‘And you _mama_.’

And then Maggie too tried to fight it, biting down on her bottom lip to stop it from shaking before she let it go, gave into her feelings. She let out a small laugh, as the tears started to fall and she embraced Alex. ‘See? We’re totally acing this motherhood thing.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More family fluff (and maybe some drama, since we haven't had any yet) coming next chapter! xo


	6. Chapter 6

Sundays were made for watching the love of your life sit with your child on their lap, as they taught them all about animals, complete with the necessary sound effects.

‘Elephant.’

Well, maybe not _all_ the sound effects…Maggie skimped out on those she couldn’t do. But the ones she _could_ do? They were absolutely, utterly precious. Who knew that Maggie was _so_ good at bird sounds? Alex hadn’t, not before today. And her lion’s roar? It was so cute it gave Alex goosebumps, and a big ass smile.

And Maggie’s little giggle when Ellie looked up at her with a gummy smile? Alex thought her heart was going to burst. ‘Please tell me you got that,’ she whispered to James, who was crouched in front of her.

He stood and offered his camera. ‘How’s this?’

He _had_ and the shot was perfect. _So, so_ perfect. ‘Looks great.’

‘I can’t believe you got an award-winning, world famous photographer to take faux-candid photos of me.’ Maggie looked up from the book in her hands. ‘You’re such a loser.’

Alex shrugged. ‘I needed a new lockscreen.’

‘My apologies. I can’t believe you made an award-winning, world famous photographer take faux-candid photos of me for your phone wallpaper. You’re a _giant_ loser,’ Maggie laughed as she turned to Ellie. ‘Can you say that baby? Say _mommy’s a giant loser_.’

‘Ignore her, Alex. It’s very sweet,’ James said. He had been cool about this whole thing, never once questioning why she’d asked him to bring his camera when he and Kara came round to visit. ‘Happy to do this anytime for you guys.’

Alex arched a brow. ‘ _Anytime_ , huh…’

That got Maggie’s attention. ‘If you get him to take photos of me sleeping, there will be consequences. And that includes you too, Olsen. You know better than that.’

‘Don’t worry – _that_ I won’t do. My subjects must always be conscious – that’s my one rule.’

‘You’re a good man,’ Maggie nodded.

And an even better uncle, who turned around instantly as the hem of his shirt was tugged.

‘Unky Jimmy?’

‘Yes, sweetheart?’ He smiled, looked down at Jamie.

‘Piggyback.’

‘Uh-uh,’ Alex stepped in. ‘Remember what you have to say first.’

‘Piggyback, please?’ Jamie asked, although it still very much sounded like an order – one month with Alex and Maggie had, clearly, rubbed off on her.

James was only happy to oblige. ‘Wait…where’s Auntie Kara?’

‘She had to fly up into the sky.’

‘Oh…I see.’

Alex waited until James and Jamie went out into the back yard, before crouching down beside her wife, leaning forward to kiss her temple. ‘Looking forward to later?’

Maggie forced a smile. ‘Is it weird that I’m kinda dreading it?’

‘Not at all.’

‘I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’ll be nice to be able to wear nice shirts again without worrying about leaking through them but…she’s just growing up _so_ fast.’ Maggie ran her fingers through Ellie’s thick dark locks. ‘Tonight, we start weaning her; before we know it, she’ll be running about.’

‘I know.’ The same thought had been on Alex’s mind recently too. It still felt like it was yesterday that they had come home from the hospital, tired but unbelievably excited. Ellie had been so small back then – she still was small, in a lower percentile for her age (she had, after all, come from Maggie) but she looked so grown up. She was so receptive with tiny little hands that could grasp onto objects so tightly (again, that was all Maggie) and she was nearly crawling. Time had flown. ‘But…think of all the firsts that are to come, though.’

‘First tooth,’ Maggie mused, a milestone that recent, difficult days of teething had evidenced was quickly coming.

‘First steps,’ Alex added.

‘First word.’

‘First day of school.’

‘First award at prizegiving – with you as a mom, it’s only natural.’

‘First heartbreak.’

‘First time Mama murders whatever little shit breaks my baby’s heart.’

‘Um, excuse me? _I’ll_ be murdering whoever that is.’ With a DEO agent and a police captain as parents, anyone who even thought about hurting Ellie (or Jamie) would sincerely regret it. ‘Or maybe she’ll be lucky,’ Alex said. ‘Maybe her first love will last. Mine did, and now I have three _gorgeous_ girls in my life.’

Maggie smiled. ‘That’s all I ever want for them. Let’s just hope that we haven’t used up all the luck in the universe.’

/ / /

Just strapping Ellie into her high chair for the first time made Alex’s eyes sting. ‘Look at you, sitting at the dining table like a grown up. You’ll be eating weird food like your mama soon, won’t you?’ Alex leaned in close and whispered, ‘Not if I have anything to do with it.’

‘I heard that,’ Maggie said as she came over, little purple bowl and two bright green spoons in hand. ‘And yes, she _will_ because I refuse to let her eat half the crap that you and your sister eat.’

Alex grimaced at the chunky brown slop in the bowl.  _Speaking of crap._  ‘That looks…interesting.’

‘It looks _yummy_ ,’ Maggie corrected, although her cheerful expression looked that little bit forced.

‘What is it?’

‘Beef casserole.’

‘That does _not_ look like beef casserole.’

‘Alex?’ Maggie said calmly.

‘Yeah?’

‘If you put her off this, you’ll be eating the whole jar. And that is a promise, not a threat.’ The unwavering smile was unnerving, and made Alex change her tune.

She picked up one of the spoons, and scooped up a spoonful of the baby food. ‘Hey princess, wanna try this yummy awesomeness?’

Ellie looked unimpressed by the offering, giving it a good millisecond of attention before looking away.

Now it was Maggie’s turn to offer. ‘Look what Mama has!’

Again, the briefest of looks before Ellie happily babbled away to herself.

They went at this for a couple of minutes to no avail, before Maggie sighed. ‘God…this is like you with vegan ice-cream all over again.’

‘That was like ten years ago!’ _And, shamefully, it was a little_.

‘And yet I still remember it vividly. That’s how much you were acting like a baby. Literally.’ Maggie smirked before trying again with the spoon. ‘C’mon cutie, try some of this for me, please?’

‘For the record, you weren’t that soft with me,’ Alex muttered.

‘That was because you were being pathetic, acting like I was trying to feed you arsenic.’

‘I’d have preferred arsenic.’

‘That wasn’t what you said later that night.’

Alex felt warm at the memory. ‘If you offered to feed me arsenic _that_ way, then I’d die very happy. _Literally_.’ The only way she’d ever willingly eat vegan ice-cream was if the platter it was being served on was Maggie… _god, that was a wonderful memory._ Just thinking about it gave her thoughts that were not at all appropriate for this time or place. Begrudgingly, she pushed them to the back of her mind, and focused on the task at hand. ‘Maybe she doesn’t know it’s food?’

‘Hmm…hadn’t considered that.’ Maggie’s eyes flicked down to the spoon in her hand before returning to Ellie. ‘Hey cutie, look at Mama.’

The second Maggie had Ellie’s undivided attention, she fed herself the very questionable spoonful of beef casserole. Alex’s stomach flipped.

‘See baby? Yummy,’ Maggie said nonchalantly, as if eating pureed baby food was the most natural thing for an adult to do.

Nauseous didn’t even begin to cover how Alex felt. ‘Oh, I am _so_ not kissing that mouth.’

‘Yes, you are.’

‘Did it actually taste good?’

‘Weirdly, yes?’

She’d take her word for it – there was no way she was going to try it to find out. ‘You’re so gross.’

‘Alex, you’re not exactly selling this stuff to Ellie.’

‘Hardly – she can’t understand words.’ All signs had been indicative of Ellie being smart, but she was still only six months old. Besides her name, her verbal comprehension had only really began to extend to _mommy_ and _mama_.

‘No but she can understand actions so, if she doesn’t want this spoonful then mommy’s also going to have to show her that it’s yummy.’

Alex’s eyes went wide, knowing full well that her wife would make her do it and Alex could hardly make a fuss, and risk putting her daughter off the idea of eating. ‘Oh God.’

Maggie revelled in Alex’s fear. ‘Nervous?’

‘Yes.’ Alex thrust the spoon in front of Ellie. ‘Princess, please try just a little. For mommy?’ Emotional blackmail then, some buttering up. ‘C’mon angel. You’re so smart, I _know_ you can do it!’

As it turned out, much to Alex’s relief, emotional blackmail and buttering up was the winning combination, and Ellie accepted the offering.

‘You like that?’ Maggie beamed, more so when their daughter happily banged her highchair's tray in response. ‘You’re _so_ lucky she loves her mama.’

‘So lucky,’ Alex concurred, reaching forward to kiss Ellie. ‘Thank you, sweetheart. Thank you so--.’

Cries erupted from outside.

Alex was up on her feet immediately, rushing outside.

The situation was obvious, but it was also not. It was also immediately temporarily irrelevant, as Jamie came first. ‘I’m here, honey. It’s okay,’ Alex said as she took over from Kara in soothing the child, wrapping her arms around her tightly. ‘You’re okay.’ It took a few moments for Jamie’s cries to subside, then Alex started asking questions, looking up at her sister for answers. ‘What happened?’

‘We were pushing her on the swing and the chain just…snapped, and she fell.’

That was what Alex had figured, given the broken metal chain and the now lopsided seat. It didn’t make any sense though. ‘We only got that swingset two days ago, it shouldn’t have--.’ Then Alex remembered. Her adoptive daughter had Kryptonian blood. ‘Who was pushing her?’

‘James was. I was too scared to, for obvious reasons.’

_Reasons that Alex now suspected played a role in this_. Still, she had to make sure – Jamie had never shown any signs of any superhuman ability before. She looked over to James. ‘How sturdy is that chain?’

James pulled the metal links taut. ‘Very sturdy.’

‘And what about the link that snapped? Any signs of rust or whatever?’

Kara gave the snapped piece of metal a thorough examination with her eyes. ‘None.’ She seemed to have clicked too now, as she went over to look at the other, intact chain that Jamie would have also held onto. ‘Uh…Alex? This side is a little crushed.’

‘Oh. _Oh_.’ Looks like Jamie was more Kryptonian than they thought. A part of Alex longed to know more about Jamie’s physiology, but she refused to put that little girl through any unnecessary tests – the initial blood test at the DEO _had_ been necessary, as they had needed to know a little about her and make sure that she was okay. But anything beyond that? Alex refused, and Maggie’s feelings were very much mutual. They were just going to have to learn as they went along. And maybe look towards reinforcing the furniture. ‘Let me see you, sweetie,’ Alex said gently, prying Jamie away from her. Her chin was ever so slightly scraped but that seemed to be the extent of her injuries. ‘Does anything else hurt?’

‘No, mommy.’

Alex smiled. ‘Okay. I’m sorry about your swingset – we’ll fix it for you, I promise. But right now, I need to get you cleaned up, alright?’

Jamie nodded.

‘Atta girl.’

Just as Alex picked Jamie up, her phone began to buzz. It was J’onn. ‘Hey.’

‘Hi Alex. Is this a good time?’

‘It’s always a good time when it’s you.’

The slight hesitation on the other end gave her a good idea where this was going. ‘I know you’re still on maternity--.’

‘If you need me, I’m in.’

/ / /

It’d been seven months since she was last in her tactical gear, or even at work. In that time period, there’d been a few adaptations to it – one was a hairband to tie her now shoulder length hair into a ponytail (she’d allowed it to grow during her leave, always intending on returning to the much more practical bob cut when she returned) and the other, was a red string bracelet that Jamie had ‘made’ for her (it was really just a string of wool she had tied around her wrist). But other than that, everything was the same and the carbine rifle in her hand felt as familiar as ever.

‘Does everyone know where they’re supposed to be?’

Alex’s question was met with collective nods. They were a block away from the warehouse that they were about to storm, gathered in front of the small army of trucks that had been used to transport their small army.

‘Great. Vasquez, get your team into position and wait for my word. Supergirl, don’t get distracted by that dog park across the street--.’

‘I would never,’ Kara pouted.

‘Sure, you wouldn’t,’ Alex grinned. ‘Alright, let’s move out.

/ / /

The mission at hand was pretty routine – a warehouse raid to capture the alien ringleader of a very dangerous alien terror cell. Alex had only been drafted in because J’onn was aware that she had history with said ringleader, and knew that she would want to finally take him down. On paper, there was nothing about the operation that was out of the ordinary.

Again, that was _on paper_ , and paper discounted the possibility of the enemy having a cloaking device in their possession, something that didn’t become apparent until the invisible assailiant fired a round into a DEO operative’s head, killing him instantly.

Alex was painfully exposed, the nearest cover being a good ten metres away. Staying still was a death sentence, so she took off, weaving her way towards a set of wooden crates, one hand on her earpiece. ‘Supergirl--.’

‘Scanning the area now,’ came Kara’s voice. The bastard had only a mere second or two until she was on his ass.

Unfortunately, it was a mere second or two too long.

Alex was within touching distance of cover when a bullet slammed into her chest. She hit the deck, hard.

_‘Danvers is down!’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry guys...to quote Chyler, #LesbianLives (this ain't The CW). But yeah...thoughts? x


	7. Chapter 7

Two fractured ribs, and a chest that was already heavily bruised. It hurt like a bitch, but it could have been worse.

Kevlar had stood between her wife becoming a widow, and her kids being one mom less – that’s how bad it could have been, and Alex couldn’t stop thinking about that as she lay on a gurney in the medbay, fiddling with the red ribbon bracelet that Jamie had excitedly given her that morning. It was just a strand of ribbon but it meant so much, as did the pictures that Jamie drew for them – pictures that had finally given their weirdly huge collection of fridge magnets a purpose.

Being a mom was cool.

Being a top-secret government agent was cool too.

But they weren’t exactly compatible.

‘Hey hey,’ Kara smiled as she entered the medbay, back in her street clothes and glasses. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Like I’ve been shot in the chest,’ Alex muttered, prompting a small laugh from her sister.

‘Have you told Maggie?’

‘No. She’ll have her hands full with the kids right now, and you know her – she’ll worry if I called her and said I was shot in the chest.’

‘I may be alien but I’m pretty sure that’s a very common human reaction to such a statement.’

‘You know what I mean,’ Alex said before glancing down to look at her watch, and then remembering that it was just out of reach on the bedside table. ‘What time is it?’

‘Seven thirty--.’

Alex tried to sit up.

Kara quickly stopped her, gently taking hold of her shoulder. ‘Whoa, hey. Where do you think you’re going?’

‘Home, to read my kid a bedtime story.’

‘Has the doctor said you could go?’

‘Not yet--.’

Kara guided her back down to the bed. ‘Then I think not.’

‘Jamie loves storytime.’

‘Maggie can manage.’

‘But we were meant to read her favorite book tonight.’

‘And you can, _tomorrow_ ,’ Kara said. ‘And every day for the rest of your life, because you fortunately did not die a mere hour ago…You’ve gotta take it easy, Alex. You have two broken ribs, and two kids that need you to be okay. We both know that you could’ve been shot for real and _still_ have tried to claim that you were _okay_ , even with a gaping chest wound.’

‘I--.’ Alex stopped herself, knowing damn well she couldn’t deny it; she’d always been stubborn to a fault but, recently, had been trying to overcome that – she had more people to think about these days. ‘I know. And I’ll take it easy, I promise.’

That promise satisfied her sister, who smiled. ‘I’ve got some stuff that I need to do around the DEO right now, so when you’re able to leave, text me and I’ll drive you back home.’

‘You’re driving?’

Kara rolled her eyes in anticipation. ‘ _I’m a terrible driver_ , let’s get that out of your system now.’

‘You’re a _horrific_ driver,’ Alex grinned. ‘But I am grateful for the ride home.’ Her phone buzzed with a message. It was a picture of her wife, lying on the couch with a sleeping Ellie on her chest, captioned, simply, with a bunch of heart emojis. That, that right there, epitomized just how lucky Alex was. But luck wasn’t infinite and, at some point, hers would surely run out – and some things had to change before it was too late.

/ / /

A slither of light escaped from between the drawn curtains, meaning that her wife was still up as Alex trudged to the front door and slid her key in the lock. It was eleven thirty, a time that now constituted a very late night for the both of them these days – they had two kids, therefore slipping into bed a little after ten, if just to relax and cuddle, was the best feeling in the world.

Maggie who had been asleep on the couch whilst the TV was still on, stirred at Alex’s return. ‘Hey,’ her tone started cheery but dwindled, no doubt at the grimace that came with every step that Alex took.

‘You didn’t have to wait up.’

‘Why? So that you could try and hide the fact you got hurt?’ Maggie untangled herself from her blanket, stood and came over to Alex.

As if she could even try to hide it – every step and breath was agony, not to mention the bruising had already come on quickly. ‘I’m sorry…how’s the kids?’

A little smile tugged at Maggie’s lips. ‘They’re fine, babe. But let’s forget about them, okay? They’re peacefully sleeping; _you’re_ in pain so, right now, you’re more important.’ Maggie nodded over to the couch. ‘Lay down.’

Alex didn’t need telling twice. ‘You’re not going to ask what happened?’

‘Does it matter?’ Maggie plumped up a cushion and slipped it under Alex’s head. Then asked anyway. ‘Okay, what happened?’

‘Shot in the chest. Two broken ribs.’ The lower ribs were also bruised too, but that would be pointing out the obvious. ‘C’mon, let me have it.’

‘Have what?’ Maggie frowned.

‘The lecture about how I shouldn’t be doing this anymore.’

‘If you’re waiting for that, you’re going to be disappointed,’ Maggie said with a firmness that took Alex by surprise.

‘You’re not mad?’

‘About?’

‘Your wife and co-parent risking her life?’

Maggie shook her head. ‘Nope.’

‘Why?’

‘‘Cause that’s part of who you are, and I was fully aware of that when I decided that I wanted a family with you.’ Maggie took hold of Alex’s hands. ‘I am mad, however, at the bastard who hurt you and he better hope to god that I never get my hands on him.’

‘The DEO has him in lock-up.’

‘And I’d happily pay him a visit if my family didn’t come first,’ Maggie smiled. ‘I’ll get you some ice. Do you need anything else?’

‘A drink,’ Alex said, before adding, ‘Scotch.’

‘Are you on painkillers?’

‘Fine, get me some water.’

‘That’s more like it. Be back in a minute. Oh--.’ Maggie spun on her heels, reached for a piece of A4 paper that was sat on the coffee table, and handed it to Alex. ‘Jamie drew this for you.’

Alex wasn’t quite sure if the picture – a picture of her in full doctor mode, with a stethoscope around her neck titled 'my hero' in big, blocky letters - broke her heart or made it fit to burst. Maybe it was both. All she knew was that it made her cry, told her that her adopted kid loved her beyond words and that it solidified some thoughts she had been mulling over for a while.

‘Baby, what’s wrong?’ Maggie asked as she returned from the kitchen, a bottle of water in one hand and a towel wrapped bag of frozen peas in the other.

‘I can’t--.’ She flinched at the gentle contact of the frozen bag to her battered body. ‘--do this anymore.’

‘Do what?’

‘This job, it’s selfish.’ Truth be told, she’d _always_ thought it was selfish, first with the secretive, lying nature of it all, and then with the constant danger she was putting herself in. ‘When I thought that my father had…’ She tailed off, not wanting to relive that particular memory, especially not right now. ‘I can’t put the kids through even a fraction of what I felt, and I know that and I’ve been trying to convince myself that it won’t happen but it nearly did. Today. And in that split second I pictured them, and you, and I…I wanted to quit.’

Her wife didn’t look at all surprised. ‘How long have you been feeling like this?’

‘Since you got pregnant.’ It had been on her mind when they’d been trying to conceive, but the pregnancy had immediately made all those hypotheticals real and scary. ‘But I don’t have to leave the DEO, nor do I want to. I mean, I’ve always wanted to do more science stuff so this is the perfect chance to do that.’

‘Have you spoken to J’onn?’

‘I don’t need to, he’s psychic remember?’

‘This is important, you _have_ to tell him,’ Maggie insisted.

‘I feel like I’m…letting him down, you know?’

Maggie didn’t agree. ‘You’ve put your body on the line for over a decade – that’s more than enough. He will totally understand. Plus, you’d be doing more of that research sorta stuff you were doing before you went on maternity leave, right?

Alex nodded.

‘Think of all the lives you’ll change with that. All the lives you will _save_. Not all heroes wear capes. Or tactical gear.’

‘And I’d also been down for running point on operations from the DEO too, I just, you know, don’t want to take those sort of risks anymore.’ Even the occasional risk was out of the equation.

‘And you really think that you’d be letting him down?’ Maggie laughed. ‘Talk to him. He’ll be thrilled to have your amazing brain working fulltime in the lab.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Absolutely,’ Maggie affirmed, her hands cupping Alex’s cheeks as she leaned in for a kiss. ‘Now…I hope you’re prepared to be fussed over for the next little while.’

/ / /

It was in her blood to _serve, honour and protect_ so it came as no surprise that Maggie was the absolute best when it came to fussing.

Alex had first been introduced to this side of her wife in the aftermath of the water tank incident, which had been the first time during their relationship that Alex had been hurt, besides the odd little bruise or scrape. The days that followed Rick Malverne’s extreme extortion attempt marked the start of them living together, for Maggie took a week off work to correlate with the time off Alex had been given, and had refused to leave her side. Despite the awful circumstances behind it, it had been a great week of junk food, shitty movies and, since those words were finally freely out in the open, declarations of love.

_It had been a fucking great week._

The weeks that were to come right now, though? Not so great.

‘Deep breaths.’

Maggie, of course, was and would be excellent – it was the broken bones that weren’t so much, as Alex winced with each breath. ‘Is this what childbirth was like?’

The question was met with a firm shake of the head, but a gentle voice. ‘I love you and I’m sorry that you’re in pain but, baby, this is _nothing_ like childbirth. Like, I’m pretty sure they could have given me a C-Section without anaesthetic and it would have hurt less.’

‘I’m so sorry.’

The apology confused Maggie, who frowned. ‘Why?’

‘For bitching about two broken ribs, when you pushed a child out and tore your--.’ Maggie’s hand over her mouth, prompted by the arrival of an inquisitive almost five-year-old, prevented her from finishing that sentiment.

A _very_ inquisitive almost five-year-old. ‘What did Mama tear?’

Alex had to stifle a laugh, whilst Maggie had to explain. ‘Uh, just a tiny bit of skin but it’s okay, it’s all better now.’ She wasn’t lying, but she wasn’t keen on dwelling on the topic any longer, her attention switching to the broken action figure in Jamie’s grasp. ‘What happened to _Superman_?’

It was a redundant question, really, for they both had an idea of what had happened. This was the second time (that they knew of) of Jamie breaking a toy – the first time had happened within mere days of welcoming her into the family, and they’d naively chalked it up to slipping standards of the toy manufacturing industry. This time, however, they had a strong suspicion it had something to do with the girl being Kryptonian, much like the superhero she was holding. ‘He was fighting a dinosaur and his arm fell off.’

 _Superman_ didn’t just lose limbs like that, not when he was part of Kara’s official _Supergirl_ merchandise line, a line that had been manufactured by L Corp – and with Lena Luthor still very much at the helm of that company, standards were always incredibly high. ‘Dinosaurs are tricky opponents,’ Alex said before holding a hand out. ‘Lemme see.’

Poor Clark’s dismemberment looked to be permanent, the plastic joint of the arm cracked beyond repair. There was typical wear and tear and then there was…well, _this_. And this was exactly why they’d been holding off any notion of school for the foreseeable. Jamie had lost her parents _and_ was alien - throwing her into a school for the first time wasn’t a good idea, not when the two of them could teach her the standard curriculum at home. Truth be told, they weren’t quite sure what they’d do with school in the coming months, especially now it was evident that the girl didn’t know her own strength.

Alex couldn’t fix the toy, but she had a plan. ‘Superman is going to need a little operation. He’ll have to be out of action for the next few hours until he heals, okay?’

Jamie nodded.

‘Nurse?’

It took Maggie a good few seconds to realize Alex was talking to her. ‘Um…yes, doctor?’

‘Take Mr Superman to the OR please.’

Maggie blinked. ‘Okay?’

And Alex couldn’t resist. ‘Stat.’

As Maggie took the toy and left the room, Alex gave Jamie the best side hug she could manage whilst laying on the couch. ‘He’ll be better soon, I promise.’

‘Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome, honey.’ Jamie skipped away, back out into the back yard whilst Alex let out a little laugh, then another as Maggie returned. ‘So where did you put him?’

‘In the microwave.’

Alex snorted.

Maggie shrugged. ‘What? Like I’m supposed to know where the OR is in our house.’

Then Alex grimaced. ‘Don’t make me laugh, it hurts.’

‘I’m not making you laugh. You’re laughing _at_ me,’ Maggie corrected as she knelt down and began running her fingers through Alex’s hair. ‘Microwaving Clark aside, am I a good nurse?’

‘Definitely.’

Maggie kissed Alex’s lips. ‘So my bedside manner is okay?’ Another kiss, this one longer and deeper than the last.

‘Wonderfully okay,’ Alex said, breathless. ‘You should continue.’

‘Is that an order, Doctor Danvers?’ Maggie arched a brow.

‘Yes,’ and for the second time that day, Alex couldn’t help herself. ‘And _stat_.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been continually blown away by the support for this fic, so thank you! Because of Christmas, there's gonna be a slight delay with the next chapter (will hopefully have it up around the 27th) so until then, whether you celebrate or not, I hope you have a great week! xo


	8. Chapter 8

Broken ribs sucked.

A year into her NCPD career, she’d broken five of them when a protest at the waterfront had turned violent. She’d been knocked to the ground and consequently trampled on. Recovery hadn’t been much fun, and her then girlfriend at the time, Emily, had only made things worse by insisting on cuddling her every night in bed – though, the fault really rested with Maggie there, for not having the heart to tell her no.

So, and as much as it pained her heart to do so, Maggie refrained from cuddling her wife, because poor Alex was already in a great deal of pain and that was _without_ extra pressure applied to her tender and heavily bruised body. They switched sides in bed, and even put a wall of pillows between them because, as Alex would lovingly say, Maggie was ‘a cuddlemonster’ and would inevitably end up spooning Alex in her sleep.

It was hard but it was for the best and it seemed to be working, with Alex in a little less (but still a lot) of pain, a week after sustaining the injury.

‘Water. Pills.’ Maggie placed a glass and an orange plastic tub down on the bedside table respectively.

Alex looked up to smile her gratitude, before returning to the final pages of the book she’d been reading to Ellie, who was sat, propped up by pillows, next to her. Alex pointed at the colourful image. ‘Monkey. Just like you.’

Maggie climbed back in bed and tickled Ellie, who giggled with a big gummy smile in response. ‘Isn’t she just?’

‘Lion.’

Maggie had read that particular book enough times to have the order of the animals’ appearances memorized, and she knew for a fact that the lion came two pages before the monkey. ‘Did you just go back so I have to--.’

‘I said _lion_ , make with the noise already.’

And Maggie did, only because she knew how much her daughter loved it. ‘There. Happy?’

‘Our little Princess is so yes, yes I am.’

Her family was so freaking adorable, even at eight o’clock on a Monday morning. _Lucky_ didn’t even begin to cover how Maggie felt every day. Checking her emails provided another little reminder. ‘Ooh.’

‘What?’

Maggie offered her phone to her wife. ‘The church sent over a copy of the confirmation details, and I just remembered that I get to marry you all over again.’ In just under eight weeks, and she absolutely couldn’t wait. They were renewing their vows in the same church that they’d gotten married in which, to some, may have seemed a little over the top given that their guest list this time was considerably smaller but, to them, it made perfect sense. As, this time, Jerimiah Danvers was going to be there to walk his daughter down the aisle, meaning that Alex was _finally_ going to have that moment – and, truth be told, that was what Maggie was _really_ looking forward to.

‘As if going shopping with my sister today wasn’t enough of a reminder,’ Alex remarked.

‘Please,’ Maggie grimaced. ‘I’ve been trying _not_ to think about that, which has been very hard given her constant texts about it.’ _Constant_ , incessant texts for the past week that had, slowly but surely, been driving her crazy. They were going to find the kids something to wear for the ceremony, and Kara could barely contain her excitement at the prospect.

One lucky person, however, had been given a reprieve from the long day ahead, and she was particularly smug about it, with a shit-eating grin on her face. ‘Bet you wish you had broken ribs now, huh?’

/ / /

Her wife had stared murderous scum (both human _and_ alien) in the eye before taking them down with ease. Her wife had jumped off buildings without a single shred of hesitation. Her wife was a bonefide badass, one of the best agents that the DEO had ever had.

Her wife was also, however, completely incapable of looking after herself at times.

‘The icepacks are in the top drawer in the freezer, your painkillers are by the kitchen sink and I’ll call you when it’s time to take them.’ Maggie paused to press a kiss to Alex’s cheek. ‘Oh, and remember to do your breathing exercises at the top of _every_ hour _and_ walk around a little too.’

‘You sound like my mother, you know that?’

‘Alex, if you do not listen to me, I will be _calling_ _your mother_ and you can bet your ass that she’ll be right over here to make sure that you're following your doctor’s orders.’

‘Please do not,’ Alex groaned.

‘Then be a good girl and do what I say, okay?’

Alex nodded. ‘Okay.’

‘Good.’ The doorbell rang, as if right on cue. ‘Jamie, honey, are you ready?’

The call was met with footsteps bundling down the stairs. ‘Yes.’

‘Call me if you need anything,’ Maggie said with one more kiss before she turned around and scooped Jamie up. ‘Let’s go.’

/ / /

Shopping with Kara was always an experience.

Shopping with Kara for kids clothing? That was an altogether different kind of experience.

The Kryptonian, who had Ellie strapped to her chest in the baby carrier, was in her element as she perused the racks of little tiny articles of clothing. They’d been out for close to an hour, and were still in the same, first shop. ‘Ooh these are cute.’

‘We didn’t come here to buy Ellie sunglasses.’

‘But they’re cute,’ Kara reasoned as she gently hooked them onto Ellie’s ears.

As much as it pained Maggie to admit it, they _were_ cute and it _was_ summer, so another pair of sunglasses to protect her little angel’s eyes weren’t unnecessary. ‘Fine, put them in the basket but, Kara - we came here to buy an outfit for the ceremony, yet we’ve gotten anything but.’

‘Okay, okay, let’s find something for that now.’

‘Thank you,’ Maggie let out a sigh of relief. ‘ _Then_ we can look at other stuff.’

It wasn’t just Maggie that was struggling with this expedition – Jamie was too, her earlier enthusiasm all but gone, as she trudged several feet behind them. She was just like Alex, who hated shopping with a burning passion.

Maggie waited until Jamie finally caught up before she crouched to her level. ‘I know this isn’t particularly fun but, if you hang on in there, I promise we’ll go to the toy shop right after we’re finished, okay?’

That made the girl’s eyes light up. ‘Really?’

‘Yep,’ Maggie smiled – she knew it would work, as she used the same sort of blackmail for Alex, although for her, it was the bookshop. ‘And you can get anything you want.’

/ / /

Some three hours later, they’d finally picked out almost matching dresses for the two kids. They’d let Jamie decide what she wanted to wear, not wanting to force the girl to wear a dress if she didn’t want to – growing up, Maggie wasn’t much of a dress sort of girl (still wasn’t much these days, unless it was the right dress) so didn’t want to force her daughter to wear something that she didn’t want to. Alex had agreed, and the idea didn’t just apply to clothes, it applied to everything.

It was actually exciting to see what Jamie really wanted, instead of enforcing the nonsense that _girls must like this_ or _only boys can like that_ – fuck gender roles and all that crap.

‘Go pick out anything you want, sweetheart,’ Maggie said, giving Jamie a gentle little nudge when they were safely within the toy store, and the little girl took off.

‘How is it that you both make _and_ adopt the most adorable kids? Please, tell me your secrets.’

‘Why? You and James thinking of procreating?’

The question made the colour rush to Kara’s cheeks, and her to comically trip over her words. ‘No, I…I mean yes, but no, not right now,’ she took a deep breath to compose herself. ‘Some day.’

Maggie laughed. ‘In all seriousness though, you’re gonna be a great mom, just like your sister.’

‘I hope so.’

‘I _know_ so. I mean, look at you with Elle right now. She looks like she could be your kid.’

Kara looked down at the baby strapped to her chest, and smiled. ‘Yeah…well, she’d be _our_ kid since she’s your mini-me, which is just a little weird since you’re my sister-in-law.’

It’d been over six months and that remark never failed to make her heart swell. It was undeniable that the kid was her doppelgänger, what with that thick dark hair, dark eyes and the ever-deepening dimples but still…to Maggie, Ellie was absolutely gorgeous, so for someone to say that that gorgeous little being looked even remotely like her? That was the best compliment in the world. ‘You know what I meant.’

‘I did and thanks,’ Kara grinned. ‘It’s nice to hear someone say that as we do want kids. At least two.’

‘You’ve talked about it?’

Kara nodded. ‘It was one of the first things we discussed when we got back together. Is that weird that we talked about it that early?’

‘Not at all,’ Maggie replied. ‘Alex and I brought it up after a month or so. It’s important to know you’re on the same page about something like that. Which, weirdly, reminds me that on one of those shows your sister watches, there was this lesbian couple. Cute couple, been together for about a season, _engaged_ and had this healthy, communicative relationship…only for them to break up because they’d never once discussed having kids.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah. One of the actresses supposedly wanted to leave which, to be honest, who could blame her as they only gave her two minutes of screentime an episode. So, they went for the cheap break-up over kids. So dumb.’

‘Sounds it,’ Kara agreed. ‘What show is that?’

‘I don’t know, I can’t keep up with what Alex watches these days.’

‘Mama!’ Jamie came sprinting back. ‘Can I get this? Please? I want to be like mommy.’

It was a little doctor playset, comprised of a plastic stethoscope and various other plastic doctor-y items. ‘Of course you can, sweetie.’ It was also only ten bucks and, as much as they didn’t want to overly spoil their kids, she had been prepared to pay much more than ten bucks on this toy store trip. ‘Do you want anything else?’

Jamie, however, was more than content with what she’d picked out. ‘Just this please.’

Again with the _please_. They were raising such a good kid, and that only made her want to spoil Jamie even more. ‘Well then, you go with Aunt Kara to pay for it, whilst I go get mommy _and_ you a little surprise, alright?’

/ / /

It had seemed like a good idea at the time to buy her two kids a small stuffed bear each, and her wife a huge, near four foot, stuffed bear. Then Maggie realized after paying for it, that she had to haul it back to their car.

She got a bunch of funny looks – the bear was nearly the same size as her, it was inevitable.

And her sister-in-law was quick to crack jokes. ‘Hey, it’s the three bears!’

‘I don’t know why you’re laughing, you’re helping me get this thing in the car.’

The bear was so large, it wouldn’t fit comfortably in the trunk so they had to put it on the backseat and fasten a seatbelt around the thing. The hassle was more than worth it though, as Alex positively beamed when Maggie carried the monstrosity into the living room. ‘I figure you needed a cuddle buddy that’s soft and won’t accidentally hurt you,’ Maggie explained as she placed the bear down on the couch.

Alex immediately cuddled into it. ‘Says _you_ , the softest of the soft. He’s…wonderfully excessive but I love him, so thank you.’

‘You’re welcome,’ Maggie smiled, crouching in front of Alex and her new buddy as it dawned on her that said new buddy had stolen her spot on the couch. _She was really regretting that damn bear now._ ‘Been busy?’

The question prompted Alex to suddenly reach to shut the open laptop on the coffee table in front of her. She winced in the process.

‘Easy, babe,’ Maggie said softly, steadying Alex with gentle hands on her waist.

‘Can you…close that?’ Alex gestured to the laptop. ‘Without looking?’

Maggie did as she was told. ‘Is that what I think it is?’

‘The world’s greatest vows, part two? Yep.’

‘The world’s _second_ greatest vows, part two…you know I’ll be going all out with mine.’

‘We’ll see about that.’

Challenging Maggie was not the greatest idea, especially considering how much Alex had bawled the first time around – not that Maggie had been much better on that front. Still, they were in front of family and friends and, most importantly, in front of each other, declaring their love. They hadn’t cared, and wouldn’t care, about shedding tears. ‘Yes, we will. And soon,’ Maggie bit down on her lip. ‘Just two more months, and I’m making you my wife all over again.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all had a wonderful holidays (or week if you don't celebrate), and a Happy New Year when it comes! Next update will be coming same time (ish) next week, so I hope you're all ready for sappy vow renewal stuff! xo


	9. Chapter 9

Their wedding day had been the best day of Alex Danvers’ life. She’d felt as loved as she did lucky, standing in front of friends and family as she married the most incredible woman, officially embarking on a lifetime of _firsts_ and _forevers_.

Today, however, would eclipse that wonderful day.

Today, she was going to relive the love and the joy and the tears but, this time, that one missing piece was going to be there to witness it.

Her father.

 _He_ was the reason that they were renewing their vows – they knew their love for each other was eternal, there had been no other reason for Maggie to propose another ceremony other than so that Alex could finally have the moment she had wanted at their actual wedding, to have her father walk her down the aisle.

Well _that_ , and she had a hunch that Maggie had always wanted to be the one to propose in their relationship, and she too had finally gotten the moment that she had so longed for when she’d gotten down on one knee to ask Alex to marry her once more.

Both reasons were as valid as they were beautiful - two more reasons why she loved her wife so much.

‘Look at you.’ Her father’s proud words were all it took to make her eyes sting.

‘Dad, don’t. I at least want to wait until I’m in front of Maggie before I start crying.’ It was too late. Jerimiah’s eyes were already full of tears, and it set Alex off – she was _really_ going to be putting her supposed waterproof mascara to the test today.

Her father pulled her into a tight hug. ‘I’m sorry honey,’ he said with a laugh as he pulled away, beaming proudly as he took in his daughter – she wasn’t wearing anything quite as extravagant as she did on her actual wedding day (even with her ribs fully healed, she’d never subject herself to that level of uncomfortableness ever again in her life) but it was still a stunning – and expensive – dress, the sort that she would never wear otherwise. ‘You look so beautiful.’

Forty years old, and she still couldn’t receive a compliment without blushing…today really was going to be a repeat of their wedding, where she’d be a crying, blushing mess in almost every single photo. ‘Thanks, Dad.’

‘Just telling the truth,’ he smiled before holding out his arm. ‘Car’s here. You ready?’

/ / /

For someone who never thought she’d ever even get married, it sure felt weird to be standing at an altar for the second time in her life. Despite having experienced it all before, Maggie still felt nervous, terrified that she’d make a complete mess of her vows, or that something would go wrong and that Alex wouldn’t be allowed to have _her_ moment.

She tried to distract herself by chatting to James, who was also hanging around waiting for news of Alex’s arrival with his camera in his hands. ‘Before Kara gets here, can I ask you something?’

‘Fire away.’

It’d been on her mind for a while now, and today felt like the right time. The _perfect_ time, actually. She kept her voice low, so that it wouldn’t be heard by the small congregation of guests a few metres away. ‘Forgive me if this isn’t my place but you love Kara, don’t you?’

James looked offended at the question. ‘Of course I do.’ Then worry seemed to set in. ‘Why, does she think that I don’t? Did she tell you something?’

‘No but she told Alex something some ten years ago,’ Maggie smiled at the memory, as she always did. ‘She told Alex to _never let me go_ – and the following day we were picking out rings and the rest is history.’ A _wonderful_ history. ‘Look, you love her, and you want this amazing future together…why waste any more time?’

The initial shock had faded on James’ face and a smile twitched at the corners of his mouth as he came round to the idea. ‘But I…don’t have a ring. And isn’t it rude to propose at someone else’s ceremony?’

‘It’s frowned upon generally, but I wouldn’t mind and neither would Alex…but I wasn’t meaning asking _Kara_ today.’

It took a few seconds for it to click. ‘Oh. Jerimiah.’

‘It’s old-fashioned, I know, but I think it would mean a lot to him.’ She _knew_ that it meant a lot to him; she’d heard it in his voice when she’d made that spontaneous phone call at ten in the morning to ask him. That was just a phone call, never mind walking his daughter down the aisle--.

‘Alex is here!’ Winn called out.

\-- which was what Jerimiah Danvers was just about to do.

/ / /

 _Agent_ Alex Danvers was a sharpshooter, a medic and a scientist.

 _Domestic_ Alex Danvers was a terrible cook who struggled to assemble flatpack furniture and someone who, more often than not, would trip over pairs of shoes that she would lazily discard in the middle of a room. It was only naturally that she would tear up – yet again – at the words her father said to Maggie, as he gave Alex away.

‘Thank you for taking such good care of my little girl.’

Because truer words had never been spoken.

With Maggie by her side, Alex’s life was infinitely easier. Maggie cooked, Maggie assembled stuff with ease (she was _that_ lesbian stereotype) and Maggie tidied out of instinct and without complaint. Maggie was amazing, and Maggie made everything possible.

Like motherhood.

Without Maggie, she’d have been a terrible mother. Her career was dangerous and her lifestyle wasn’t particularly healthy. She’d needed someone to even things out, to make her realize what was important and, thankfully, that was Maggie and they now had two amazing kids and, as much as she wasn’t one to big herself up, she knew that they were acing the whole motherhood thing.

Naturally, Alex had a lot of things she wanted to include in these up-to-date vows.

A lot.

‘Maggie...sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I hadn’t met you and, honestly, thinking about that scares me.’

_A lot._

‘But, fortunately, our paths crossed and I didn’t just meet the most incredibly gorgeous woman,’ Alex took a second to take in, again, just how beautiful Maggie looked today, in her tailored tux, ‘But also the most incredible woman, and my best friend.’

Maggie's own emotions already had her on the ropes.

Alex continued, trying her hardest to keep it together herself. ‘The time that we’ve spent together as friends, as girlfriends, as _wives_...I will always cherish, and will continue to cherish as we live not just as wives, but also as mothers.’

She took the opportunity to glance over at Ellie and at Jamie, who were sat on their grandmother’s and aunt’s knees respectively. Alex wasn’t quite sure what she’d ever done to be blessed with a family as amazing as the one that she had.

She turned back to Maggie. ‘For the rest of my life, I promise to love you and I promise to protect you, though we both know that’s not necessary, and I promise to never take a second of what we have for granted – only fools would take this sort of life for granted.’ Alex squeezed her wife’s hands. ‘You, Maggie Sawyer, are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I promise to spend every day showing you that. Or at least _try_ to show…I’m not sure if it’s at all possible to show you just how much you mean to me.’ She was almost there, almost through without crying. _Almost_. Her voice caught on the last sentence. ‘I love--.’ _So close_. ‘I love you, thank you for being my wife.’

They took a moment to wipe away their tears, before Maggie went.

‘Alex,’ she said, with _that_ bright smile and _those_ dimples. ‘I could talk forever about how incredible you are, how grateful I am for how you showed me that love wasn’t just a concept, or how lucky I feel when I wake up every morning and know that the beautiful woman beside me is _my_ wife. Instead, I’m going to keep it like me – short – and -like you – sweet. I love you, and the beautiful family you’ve blessed me with. This past decade has been incredible, and I can’t wait for more with you by my side. I promise to be your big spoon forever.’

They kissed.

They embraced.

They couldn’t wait to spend the rest of their lives together.

/ / /

The guest list for their reception was large, but it was a relatively chill affair. They were a few tables away from the dancefloor, Alex sat on Maggie’s lap, as they chatted and peoplewatched.

Maggie had been tracking a certain photographer all evening. It took a while to happen, but once she witnessed the exchange between James and Jerimiah, she couldn’t help but break the impending happy news. ‘Looks like there’s going to be another addition to the family.’

Alex’s eyes went wide. ‘Kara’s pregnant?’

‘No.’

Went even wider still. ‘You’re pregnant?’

‘I’m not adverse to having more kids with you but, one, we’ve kinda got our hands full right now and, two, I think that champagne is a little strong for you.’ In Alex’s defence, they hadn’t drank much this past year, and even small quantities could quickly make them tipsy. ‘No, no _babies_ …more a prizewinning, six foot three photographer.’

‘James?’ Alex frowned. Then, ‘ _Oh._ Really?’

‘Keep your voice down in case she hears,’ Maggie said, her eyes on Kara who was in the middle of the dancefloor, twirling Jamie about. ‘But yes. I may or may not have just seen him asking your father for permission. I also may or may not have told him to propose.'

‘You did?’

‘Well Kara told you to propose to me, so figured I’d return the favour.’ It was only fair, after all.

‘Or you just love being a romantic sap.’

‘That too,’ Maggie grinned. ‘Speaking of romantic saps, your vows were quite something.’

‘A bit too long?’ Alex grimaced.

‘No, _never_. Every word was beautiful.’

Alex smiled. ‘Yours were too. Even if everyone now knows I’m the little spoon.’

‘Please, as if they’d think I was.’

‘True,’ Alex agreed. ‘Very true.’

‘Damn right.’ Maggie pressed a kiss to Alex's temple before patting Alex's leg. 'Get up. You're dancing with me.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? x


	10. Chapter 10

For their honeymoon all those years ago, they’d spent five nights in Paris, followed by five nights in Rome with a quick weekend in London sandwiched in between. They’d taken their time on strolls around each city, posed for sappy ultra-touristy pictures in front of the landmarks and went out every evening to sample the local cuisine.

The vacation they went on after renewing their vows to _Disneyland_ was more hectic than romantic (although they did get a passer-by to take a picture of them kissing in front of the iconic castle) but it was just as fun as their earlier European adventures, if not more – and totally worth it to see Jamie’s face light up over and over again. Even Ellie, who wouldn’t remember it, seemed to have the time of her life, giggling happily on the baby friendly rides they took her on.

Alex had visited the park many times, but it was a first for Maggie and, just minutes into their week-long stay, she knew that it wouldn’t be her last. From _Space Mountain_ to the waterparks, to wearing _Mickey Mouse_ ears (few people could get her to do that in public, and those few people were her wife and kids), she loved it all. The week went quickly, _too quickly_ , and they were back in National City before they knew it.

And then, the following week, it was back to work, her year-long maternity leave – aka the best year of her life – finally at an end.

She remembered, painfully, just how much Monday mornings sucked when she couldn’t stay in bed and cuddle her loved ones. Maggie couldn’t help but feel a tad resentment towards her sleepy wife who still had a few more months left of freedom. ‘Don’t have too much fun without me, alright?’

Alex caught her arm as she turned to leave. ‘Don’t go,’ she mumbled.

‘Hey, it’s not like I wanna,’ Maggie countered. ‘But Captain Sawyer needs to go to work.’

‘Captain Sawyer needs to stay in bed.’ Her little pout was so freaking adorable and totally not helping matters at all.

‘I thought it was _Captain Sawyer_ when patrolling the streets, and _Mrs Danvers_ when between the sheets?’

That remark only made Alex tighten her hold. ‘I want both _Captain Sawyer_ and _Mrs Danvers_.’

‘Never knew you were the threesome type,’ Maggie grinned.

‘I would be if I could clone you.’

Maggie laughed. ‘Well…you _are_ a bio-engineer after all. Figure out how to clone me and you can have all the threesomes you want. Except I won’t be fucking my clone but, what I _would_ do with her is send her to work so that I can stay here with you.’ She pried Alex’s fingers off and kissed her one more time. ‘I’ll see you later. Love you.’

/ / / 

Cries crackled through the monitor mere seconds after Maggie’s car pulled out the driveway.

‘I feel you kid,’ Alex muttered as she flung the covers back. ‘I miss her too.’

She padded through to the nursery and scooped her daughter up, rubbing Ellie’s back as she bounced her. It soothed her a little, but she was still fussy.

‘It’s okay baby. We’ll go get you your bottle.’

One quick trip down to the kitchen later, and Alex was met by Jamie at the top of the stairs. The absence of Maggie was a disturbance in the force that they all felt. ‘Where’s Mama?’

‘She went to work, honey. She needs to put the bad guys in jail.’

Jamie gave a little nod in response. ‘When will she be back?’

Alex couldn’t answer that. It would be five if the city could behave itself but National City rarely did. It was why she was eternally grateful that J’onn would be giving her a stable clocking off time of three o’clock when she finally would return to the DEO, enabling her to head straight to pick Jamie up from a still, undecided upon, school – they had a few months figure out where the best place for their superpowered kid was. ‘Later today.’

Jamie still looked a little downbeat – this was going to be the first of many rough adjustment periods.

All Alex could do was offer her free hand. ‘How does cuddles with me and your sister, whilst we watch cartoons in the big bed sound?’

/ / /

The second her ass hit her chair, it had felt like she’d never left. The framed family picture taken at Disneyland that sat proudly on her desk in a _Mickey Mouse_ frame, however, was a wonderful reminder that she had left, brought life into this world before taking on another little girl, who she loved just as much as her own flesh and bone. All that had happened in just under a year. It was crazy how fast time had flown, because it felt like just yesterday that she was struggling to even use her desk with her pregnant belly in the way.

She missed that.

Don’t get her wrong, nothing about the pregnancy had been glamourous – from struggling to even conceive, to puking in the wee hours every damn morning for three months straight, to having constant back ache in the last few months, it had been rough. But Alex had always been there with nothing but love and had made it all manageable.

The whole _I promise to be your big spoon_ part of her new vows? Kinda sorta didn’t apply anymore. That’s not to say Maggie didn't spoon Alex – she did, and would continue to do so very happily – but ever since discovering they were going to be parents, Maggie had taken a step back from spooning duties. For obvious reasons, it wasn’t really feasible when pregnant so Alex had naturally taken over, protectively wrapping an arm around Maggie’s growing stomach each and every night in true _Mama Bear_ fashion. Big Spoon Alex had continued once Ellie was born too, and Maggie hadn’t fought it because she absolutely loved it. They switched from time to time but, more often than not these days, Alex was the big spoon. And it was perfect.

Her life was perfect.

Knowing what was waiting for her at home made it easy to push through a week’s backlog of paperwork that the stand-in captain had so generously left for her.

Two hours later, and two thirds of the way through it, there was a knock at the door.

‘Yeah, come in.’

The door opened…but nobody entered.

It was her first day back – she was expecting some pranking to happen but, when you were the captain of a precinct that had been absolutely swamped with dumb little crimes and the accompanying paperwork, there wasn’t time for this sort of crap. She stood, ready to go kick some ass but, as she did, all that annoyance dissipated immediately. She ran around the other side of her desk, to pick up Ellie who’d been crawling over. ‘You come all the way here yourself? That’s very impressive,’ Maggie grinned.

‘She led the way, we could barely keep up with her,’ Alex smiled as she appeared in the doorway. ‘Sorry for dropping by unannounced, but we were kinda missing you. Is this a good time?’

‘ _Anytime_ is a good time when it’s you. I’ve missed my little monkey,’ Maggie said as she began to smother her daughter with kisses. ‘ _I’ve missed you so much cutie. So, so much_.’

Alex cleared her throat.

Maggie looked up. ‘And you too, I guess. And Jamie--.’ She tilted her head to look past Alex, spotting their other kid handcuffing Grisham to his desk. _Atta girl, Jamie_. ‘Is terrorizing the bullpen…go figure.’

‘She may not have our blood, but she’s definitely our kid that’s for sure.’

‘Damn right,’ Maggie agreed before calling out, ‘Jamie, come here sweetie.’

Jamie came running.

‘Wanna see my office?’

Knowing she would spend a lot of time holed up between these four walls, one of the first things Maggie had done when she’d became Captain of the NCPD’s Westbury Precinct was add a big taste of home. Two wedding photos sat beside the new family photo, a couple of bonsai trees were dotted around the place and a gorgeous picture of the city skyline, shot by James, hung on the wall. A miniature pride flag also sat proudly in her pencil pot – a nice reminder that she, an openly gay woman, had managed to get this far as a cop. Hard work paid off.

‘Cap-tin….Saw--.’ Jamie looked at Maggie for help with the name plaque.

‘ _Sawyer_. It was my surname before I got married,’ she explained. ‘It’s also your middle name.’

Married naming traditions seemed to stump the girl. ‘Why did you change it?’

‘I liked _Danvers_ better.’

The answer satisfied Jamie. ‘Oh, okay,’ she said before turning and running back off to, adorably, terrorize.

‘She’s hyper,’ Maggie remarked.

‘Indeed. I’m taking her to the park afterwards so she can run off some of that energy. Which, reminds me,’ Alex shook off her backpack and pulled out a paper bag. ‘I brought you lunch.’

‘You shouldn’t have,’ Maggie smiled.

‘You’re working hard, it’s the least I could--.’ Alex’s grimaced. ‘ _Damn it_.’

‘What?’

Alex turned the bag around, pointing at the _J_ written in black marker. ‘I brought you Jamie’s lunch instead. We were going to head back home to pick up _our_ lunches so we could have a picnic, but I took the wrong damn one. Will…will, uh sandwiches without the crusts, string cheese, animal crackers and a juicebox ruin your reputation around here?’

‘I lost my reputation when you decided to show everyone the few childhood photos that I have,’ Maggie replied before shaking her head. ‘It’s okay, babe. That’s a pretty good lunch, and it’s the thought that counts anyways.’

‘You sure?’

‘Absol--.’ She was cut off by her desk phone ringing. She handed Ellie back to Alex before reaching to answer. ‘Sawyer.’

And then came two of the worst phrases a cop could hear. _Active shooters. Casualties expected._

She covered the mouthpiece, and looked over at her wife. ‘Kara’s needed at Westbury Mall _now_.

/ / /

 _Supergirl_ had saved the day and many lives but, sadly, she couldn’t bring back those who were already lost.

Eight people were dead.

Two of them were kids, little girls who’d never get the chance to grow up.

As a cop, you always had to do your best to decompartmentalize. You couldn’t change anything nor, in situations like that, could you have even done anything. Lives were lost before the shooting was reported and Maggie knew that calling in Kara had been the best course of action, and had saved as many lives as were possible. Still…it always hit hard and, today, learning about those kids, it had never hit harder.

She had read out a statement on national television with tired, red eyes.

She then returned to her office and cried for another good few minutes and imagined, yet again, the sort of pain those families were going through.

She then wiped her tears away and set about doing her job, doing her utmost to ensure that shit like that never happened ever again. She’d become a cop to help others, to make the city a safe place and she’d never had more reason to do just that.

It was a little after ten when she finally got home, and found her wife passed out facedown on the couch.

Maggie smiled, crouched beside her and began running her fingers through Alex’s hair, an action that stirred her. ‘Hey sleeping beauty.’

‘You’re home.’ Alex went to sit up and that was when Maggie saw.

‘Whoa hey. Are you okay? What happened to your face?’

‘My…? Oh.’ Alex began to laugh as she touched the band-aid on the bridge of her nose. ‘I was playing with Jamie. She was the doctor, I was the patient…and I totally forgot that was there.’ She grimaced as she tugged the strip off. ‘I, uh, saw the news...do you want to talk about it, or do you want a drink?’

‘Honestly both…and also neither,’ Maggie said, her eyes flicking to the floor. ‘Right now, all I want is to shut this horrible world out, and forget that shit like that happens.’

‘I might be able to help with that, at least a little.’

Maggie looked up. ‘How?’

‘Just…go upstairs, get changed into your PJs and bring our duvet and pillow down, and I’ll show you.’

/ / /

Alex’s plan? A pillow fort in the middle of their living room. And it was a good plan – for the fifteen odd minutes they took to construct the thing, the horrible events of the day disappeared from Maggie’s mind. They returned as she sat inside their creation waiting for Alex to return with snacks and beer, before vanishing again.

‘You know, this is the first time in my forty plus years of life that I’ve ever sat in a pillow fort.’

‘Really?’ Alex looked surprised as she handed Maggie a bowl of popcorn.

‘I was a shy kid growing up and didn’t really have many friends that I could do this sort of stuff with. And I’d never have dared trying to build one myself – my dad was always strict, he probably would never have allowed it anyways.’ She’d always been scared of her father, even before he’d kicked her out. Though he was never violent, he had a temper and would be quick to send her to her room if she did anything remotely wrong in his eyes. It had always felt like she’d been walking a tightrope, especially if he’d had a hard day at work. She never wanted her kids to feel like that, ever. ‘I’m guessing this was a common activity for you and Kara then?’

Alex nodded. ‘We built them a lot when she first got here. They helped her to block out her weird and scary new world when it all got too much…which is why I thought we should build one today.’

‘It’s a good idea, because it’s helping.’

Alex shrugged. ‘I’m a genius, I know.’

‘You _are_ though, Alex.’ Stuff like this, her ingenuity and her natural caring side were reasons why Alex was such a great mother and wife. ‘I’m glad I get to do all this stuff with you. I can’t imagine doing any of this with anyone else.’

‘Likewise,’ Alex said. ‘Which reminds me…annual passes to _Disneyland_ – yay or nay?’

‘Uh, _yay_.’

‘Good because I bought them.’

Maggie laughed. ‘Of course you did.’

‘I was feeling nostalgic! Thinking of you walking around a theme park wearing a little pair of _Mickey Mouse_ ears causes people to spontaneously spend thousands of dollars, okay? You’re doing the princess makeover next time by the way.’

‘Only if you do the popstar makeover.’

‘Fine,’ Alex shrugged. ‘It’ll be more than worth it.’

Maggie didn’t doubt it. ‘You know, I always wanted to go to _Disneyland_ when I was little.’

‘I sensed.’

‘We couldn’t afford it. We weren’t poor but we weren’t exactly rich either. The furthest we ever went was Chicago. That was a twelve-hour drive in my dad’s pick-up.’ Chicago was nice but she was a kid and wasn’t really able to appreciate it the way that she would now. To little Maggie, it wasn’t as glamorous or as exciting as the commercials she’d see for _Disneyland_. ‘I’m really grateful our girls get experiences that I didn’t get – including a safe and accepting home.’

‘That they’ll _always_ have.’

She was beyond grateful for that. ‘I’m getting too deep whilst sat in a pillow fort, aren’t I?’

‘Number one rule about pillow forts is that there are no rules…except that rule. Obviously.’

Maggie arched a brow. ‘So I can do what I want?’

‘As long as that doesn’t involve enforcing rules--.’ Alex was silenced with a kiss that left her breathless. ‘Wow…okay. This is definitely the best pillow fort I’ve ever built.’

‘You wanna make out in a pillow fort?’

‘That’s such a dumb question,’ Alex said before going for the next kiss.

Maggie countered it with one of her own, and the ferocity of it made them topple over onto the duvet that they were using as a floor. Maggie’s lips travelled down the curve of Alex’s neck, whilst her fingers fumbled with blouse buttons. She was on the last button when a voice made her come to a sudden stop.

‘Mommy? Mama?’

 _Thank God for the blankets_. Maggie crawled her way out and forced a smile. ‘Everything okay, baby?’

‘I had a nightmare.’

 _Of course she did_ …because they never seemed to be allowed that sort of alone time together anymore. But that was okay. They’d wanted a family and they’d been very much blessed with one. Maggie didn’t even hesitate. ‘I’ll come read with you until you fall back asleep.’

And when she was reading, she’d also be mentally planning to call the newly engaged Kara and James, to have them babysit someday soon, so that she and Alex could finally have the _alone time_ they were both craving...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand that's all folks! I thought ten chapters would be a nice stopping point for this fic, so I hope you've enjoyed it! Thank you all for reading and for supporting this fic - it's been really fun to write, and all the lovely words and kudos you've left has really made it so worthwhile, so thank you!!
> 
> I adore this little family I've created in this fic so will almost certainly return to them in a future fic...until then, I've been planning on switching it up and writing something super angsty so stay tuned if you love angst as much as I do! ;) 
> 
> Thank you again so, so much!! <3


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